Countdown to Infinity
by InsanityManifest
Summary: The Titans of the Future travel back in time... [Chapter 6: The Ravager, Part 2. A stakeout of Wayne Towers reveals the true identity of The Ravager, and a certain thief makes his appearance.]
1. Prologue: The Message

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Earth Orbit

March 21, 2030 (16 years after the Cataclysm)

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The sky above the Earth was in chaos, burning from the fires of fierce battle.

The blackened and charred surface of the planet looked almost serene compared to the skies above, as small black fighters clashed with Javelins, the spaceship of choice for the Justice League.

Wave after wave of onyx ships shot up from the Earth's surface, eager to engage and destroy the League ships above, sending streaks of green and red energy beams at their adversaries.

The long shimmering Javelins could not hold their enemies at bay however, and they were quickly overwhelmed, leaving the massive space-stations, the Watchtowers, defenseless. The small black fighters were too nimble for the weapons of the stations, and the smaller ships opened fire.

One by the one, the Watchtowers began to plummet to the surface in red hot balls of debris, set afire by both their enemies weapons, and from the friction of their descent.

There was now, only one left...

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_BREEEEE-BREEEE-BREEEEE!_

"It's no good sir, I can't restart the Tower's defenses," an engineer shouted as he typed furiously at his console.

"Keep trying! Allocate all power from weapon systems to shields," his commander yelled back.

Amidst the blaring noise of the emergency alarms and the flashing red lights, the crew of Watchtower 01 diligently tried to bring their station back on line, and hopefully give it a fighting chance.

_**FWOOOOOOM!**_

A loud explosion rocked the ship violently, knocking several crewmembers out of their seats.

"Damn! Status report," the gray and blue uniformed commander asked to the engineer at his right, clinging to the large computer terminal in front of him.

The engineer readjusted his glasses and focused on his console, "Hull Breach on decks four, five, and six...Several heat signatures detected...Their not organic sir!"

The commander ran a hand through his brown buzz cut hair as he tried to gather his wits on the trembling deck.

A moment passed and the commander responded, a grave tone in his voice, "Attack drones...How many?"

"I'm counting twenty two so far!...No thirty...Forty Two!...It's a boarding party!"

"Lock down all decks adjacent, and shut down the transporters to keep them contained."

The engineer wiped his drenched forehead, "I've already shut down the 'porters, it's no good! They're destroying the blast doors on each deck! The Tower will be overrun in less than fifteen minutes at this rate!"

The commander tapped a few buttons at his terminal, bringing up a green, see-through display of the Watchtower, and he grit his teeth as tiny red dots that began to filter into the ship's floors from a single spot.

"At this rate we may not last five...," he sighed, and punched another button extending a microphone from his computer.

"Attention, Watchtower One, we have been breached. All crew members prepare for combat. Any Justice League members not yet deployed, are to report on the double! Use whatever means necessary! Protect Lab 05!"

He slid the microphone back into the computer and turned to the engineer again, "Send out a distress call! Blanket Frequency!"

"Aye sir," he pulled out a wireless headset from underneath his console.

"Mayday! Mayday! This is Watchtower One, we are under attack. Enemy unknown, Coordinates 09-23-16! We have sustained heavy damage and lost our offensive weapons...We are the last tower standing! Mayd---"

_**BOOOOOOOOOM!**_

An earsplitting explosion ripped the entrance doors of the bridge to pieces, sending debris and crewmembers in all directions, mixed with fire and smoke.

The engineer himself slammed into the bridge windows, before falling to the ground in a heap.

"May..Day...Last...Tower...," he muttered, more out of shock than anything else. He knew that the commander was dead, for he was closer to the blast, but he couldn't quite guess how many were still alive with all of the smoke.

In front of him, two broad-shouldered drones stomped toward him, their feet pounding into the metal deck while red eyes focused on the lone engineer.

"Send...Help...Under...Attack..."

_**STOMP! STOMP! STOMP!**_

"Enemy..."

_**STOMP! STOMP! STOMP!**_

"...unknown."

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**Titans...A terrible purpose lies before us. A mission of deep implications for each and every one of you.**

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"Sir! We've got incoming," the blond mechanic said, pointing to the display inside of the hangar control room.

His supervisor bit down on his cigarette, "We've got a shtload of incoming!"

"No, sir! It's not League, and it's not a bogey!"

The bearded supervisor grumbled and stalked over to the monitor, catching a glimpse of the craft display.

The ship was odd, a manta-ray shaped ship, with two engine pods on either side, and what appeared to be five pods on the topside.

"Titans...Open those damn bay doors!"

The mechanic flipped the switch, "At this speed, they won't make it! They'll smash into the doors! It's impossible!"

The supervisor spit out his cigarette, "Yeah...They're known for that..."

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**The Watchtower is under attack. The Justice League is powerless to stop this unknown enemy...**

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The doors slowly began to peel open, revealing the turbulent space battle going on outside as green and red streaks shot back and forth, but the two hangar members could make out the shape of the orange ship as it made a bee-line for the hangar bay.

"They won't make it...," the mechanic simpered, biting his nails.

_BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!_

The doors to their left began to pound incessantly, the sound of drones...

"Aww sht," was the bearded man's only reply as he drew his sidearm.

_**SLAM! BFOOOM! SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!**_

The T-ship crashed, the two engine pods smashing into the doors, sending sparks everywhere in its wake as it slammed into the bay floor. It screeched like a banshee as it skidded to a halt, barely missing the hangar wall below the hangar control by only a few feet.

"They might be alright," the blond-haired recruit exclaimed, until another pounding slam brought the doors to the control down.

A big, hulking yellow-gray drone, plodded its way into the room. It peered at the two crewmembers with grim red eyes that were embedded in a mask that resembled a skull.

It raised its massive arms, the guns mounted on them humming as they warmed up.

The two didn't have time to scream...

In that very instant, the front pod to the ship below burst open, and a dark figure leaped out, sending a metal-booted foot into the window, breaking it with a loud crash. He rushed at the metallic monster with inhuman speed.

The drone barely had time to turn and regard the intruder, who crouched low and slammed a glowing blue fist into its chest. The punch penetrated the breastplate of the robot, cutting through it like a hot knife through butter, sending the remnants of the robot careening into the wall with a loud thud.

The hangar crew were speechless, mouths agape as the figure stood.

He was very tall dark-skinned boy, with a mane of dreadlocks that were tied back with a single band. Broad-shouldered and powerful looking, yet his build was relatively thin, dressed in a skin-tight black and gray suit, with metal plates on his shoulders, back, and chest. His hands were glowing blue from the metal gloves that he wore which vibrated, humming a low tone.

The boy looked back at the two men, turning his gaze over his shoulder, "Go...More are coming. The jump down to the bay isn't that far."

The two men blinked, noting that his eyes were a bright silver, pupil-less and unblinking.

The bearded supervisor stood straight a moment later, exasperated, "Wha---!"

_**STOMP! STOMP! STOMP! STOMP! **_

Three more drones were already making their way down the hall, towards the hangar control center.

"Go!"

The two scrambled out of the window as quickly as they could.

The boy turned, leveling his silver eyes on the three attack drones.

"Okay...You want to play...?" he asked, his deep voice dripping with venom.

He clenched his fists tightly, a pair of long blue wrist-blades shooting out from his gloves, humming eerily.

"Let's play..."

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**The Tower will fall.**

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"HRRRAHHH!"

An attack drone was hurled high and slammed helplessly the hangar wall, falling to pieces on the floor below.

"Who else wants some?"

The dark-haired boy grinned as three more drones stomped towards him, aiming their deadly lasers at him.

"Go ahead and try..." the hero said nonchalantly.

They opened fire on him, red lasers converging on him with great fury.

He put his large hands on his hips, puffing out his chest with a cocky smirk as the lasers bounced and ricocheted off of his red and blue uniform. The boy raised a hand and pointed down to his chest, at the large yellow "S" symbol emblazoned upon his suit.

"You guys aren't very smart are you?"

The drones did not stop their barrage, and in fact seemed to only increase their rate of fire, the single beams becoming rapid bursts of energy. It did them no good as the blasts seemed to only be annoying their target.

"My turn...," he sneered, his ice-blue eyes narrowing, a bright red glow illuminating them.

_ZZZZAAAAAAT!_

Twin beams of hot red energy blazed out of his eyes, hitting the first drone and melting its head clean off. All that was left was a stub that glowed hot orange from the blast as the now lifeless automaton crumpled.

One by one the hero turned his head at remaining drones, cutting one in half in mid turn, and focusing his beam on the last one, melting it down to a smoldering pile of metal and circuits.

The boy blinked, his eyes going blue once more, "Well...that was...disappointing."

Another batch of drones ran through the adjacent door at the lower level of the hangar bay.

"Oh boy...More pushovers...," he muttered deadpan, before crouching low and charging at his enemies at full speed, bashing into them with his fists. Metal crunched and yielded beneath the weight of his blows, each punch sending a drone in one direction or the other, leaving fists-sized dents in their armor.

"Comin' Through!"

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**I cannot ask you to throw away your lives to fight a losing battle...All I ask is that you do what is necessary for our future.**

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The masked girl leaped up high, doing a somersault in mid air, twirling her bo-staff. She landed low in a crouch and swung her pole down low, slamming it into the bulky leg joint of a drone, snapping the joint with a crunch. She didn't give it a moment to register the damage before spinning upwards in a corkscrew and smacking the robot across the face with a backhanded swing, cracking the droid's head open like a walnut.

The girl panted, running a hand through her shoulder length black hair, "We need to find that lab..."

She stalked around the room to find some kind of map that would show her the way. She was dressed in a black suit, with a metal choker, and a blue comet imprinted on the chest of her uniform, the tail of which trailed down the stomach of her uniform. The only thing left bare was her arms, which had metal bands wrapped around her biceps.

She took one last look around the empty meeting room. Chairs had been knocked over or burned to a crisp, and the central display was aflame, being the only light for the room besides the flashing red lights. "_At least the alarm is off...,"_ she thought to herself.

_**STOMP!**_

The girl didn't even hesitate as she turned to her rear, extending a gloved hand and blasting the intruding drone with a deep-cyan starbolt. Its smoking body fell to the floor with a crashing thud.

"We're wasting time..." she muttered, pulling out a round yellow and black communicator, "Has anyone located the lab yet?"

_"Negative..."_

_"Didly."_

_"Not yet."_

_"Bingo!"_

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**Years ago, we were faced with a challenge...A choice. We had to choose between loyalty and duty, friendship or survival.**

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A boy with semi-short blond hair tapped a few more buttons on what remained of the console on the bridge. He was glad for the pair of goggles that rested on his brow, which kept his unruly locks and sweat from getting in his eyes.

Despite the heat from battle and fires he still wore his trademark brown vest over his dirt-orange and clay-red unitard.

A brown gloved hand hit another switch and the display that the now deceased commander had brought up reappeared.

"It's on deck 26...Lots of baddies...Narrow passages," he said into the communicator.

A timid whisper answered back, _"I'm the closest...I'll go."_

Another voice buzzed in, _"You sure?"_

_"Yeah..."_

_"Alright, rendezvous on deck 26, get there as quickly as you can!"_

The blue-eyed boy shut off his communicator and placed it back on his belt solemnly.

"Well...she did say quickly...," he said with an almost childish grin.

He raised his gloved hands pointed them down to the floor below him. His hands and eyes began to glow an iridescent yellow. The metal underneath him groaned and shook with an unknown weight as it began to bend and cup like a crater below his booted feet.

A drone rushed into the door of the bridge, lasers trained on the child.

"Sorry buddy, no time to play!" he shouted as the floor finally gave way and he descended through level, after level, the floors pounding into each other with each successive wave.

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**We chose wrong...We failed...And it cost us everything...**

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The red and blue boy gave a feral cry as he bashed the head of a drone into the corridor wall, flattening it like a pancake.

His dreadlocked teammate silently finished off the another robot with a downward arcing slice from one of his blue wrist blades, the machine splitting straight down the middle and falling in two separate sparking halves.

The masked leader pointed both arms at the remaining drone and fired off a massive starbolt, the focused beam sending it into the air, leaving only its remains to clatter uselessly on the ground.

Behind them, the ceiling fell, piles of metal, wires, tubes, and pipes, poured into the hallway, as their brown-vested companion managed to hobble his way out, giggling like a kid who just snuck away with a cookie.

They all looked at him.

"What," he said incredulously.

His fellow teammates shook their heads and turned back to the massive doors that were marked, "Lab 05."

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**The future must be saved at all cost, and there is no other way to save it. You must succeed where we had failed.**

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The four entered the lab and they gaped at the destruction.

All around them, the bodies, or more accurately, the pieces of drones littered the floor of the lab. Expensive equipment was either smashed, knocked over, or sparking from damage. Tiles in the walls had been ripped out, and monitors were cracked or smoldering.

The bodies of white-lab coated scientists were laid out on the floor in various positions, blackened from the destructive lasers of the drones.

Everything in the room seemed lost...Except for one thing.

A massive machine, a ring that was positioned upright and connected to the floor through a stand. A ramp lead up to its mouth, which was lit with swirling white light. It was bright enough to almost make one squint.

In the middle of the room, a petite girl stood, green skinned, with long raven hair and pointed ears, not unlike that of an elf. She was dressed in something like a black dress, with a purple diamond at the breast. The sides of it were cut off, leaving two flaps for her front and back. Underneath it she seemed to be wearing a body suit that covered her torso completely, and went down to mid thigh. On her feet, were a pair of black boots that reached up to mid-calf. On her wrists rested two spiked bracelets.

Before her there was a body on the floor, a black cape draped over his now lifeless form.

She turned to the four, shuddering. Two thin streaks of tears leaked from her violet-purple eyes. The look on her face said everything, as she held the message cylinder, that played back the message, over and over again.

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**You must kill Raven...**

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And with those final words, the five entered the portal...


	2. Arrival, Part 1

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Jump City

January 28, 2006

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It had been a two weeks since the Teen Titans had defeated the Brotherhood of Evil.

It had been a week since they had returned to their city, rejuvenating themselves in the comfort of coming home.

Days since they had partied with their fellow Titans from around the world...

Things had been quiet in Jump City since then, almost calm.

Well, as calm as a place rife with superheroes and villains can be...

In the downtown square of Jump City...

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"Titans! Attack Pattern Delta," Robin, the caped leader of the Titans shouted, a green glove pointing at the foes before them; their rivals, the Hive Five.

The Boy Wonder broke into a quick sprint. His nimble fingers reaching for his yellow utility belt, pulling out two retractable batons, and with a flick of his wrist, extended the weapons. The Titan's yellow-black cape billowed out from his red and green jumpsuit as he charged with a loud battle cry.

All of a sudden, a shadow of a figure burst out from nowhere! Dressed in a black cape and pointed cowl, he glared at Robin with narrow red eyes. Robin took a quick hop forward, swinging his batons with quick precision, striking high and low. Kid Wykkyd said nothing, merely side-stepping and ducking the swings with a deadpan expression on his face.

The Titan arched his back and sent out a high heel kick to the temple of Wykkyd, but missed the quick shadow-walker. He quickly cocked his leg in for a quick side kick to the gut, smashing the broadside of his boot into the villain's gut.

Kid Wykkyd slid back a few inches on his heels, but didn't seem phased...

"Hiyahh," Robin yelled, spinning one baton between fingers of his left hand and catching it in a downward knife-hand hold, giving the teenaged villain a wild swing to the face.

It was quickly caught in the black grip of the silent member of the HIVE Five. The Titan leader could swear he saw a flash of a smirk on Kid Wykkyd's face...Until the impact of a black boot in his gut sent Robin flying back.

He performed a quick back roll, and landed nimbly on his feet. Robin looked to his left hand, noticing that his nightstick was missing, and turned back to his opponent.

Kid Wykkyd most definitely did smirk this time, crushing the metal stick in his steely gloved fingers, the leftovers falling to the concrete.

Robin grinned, "Might want to look up..."

Kid Wykkyd blinked and did just that, only to be greeted with a large starbolt in the face. He staggered back, rubbing the excess smoke from his dark face before looking up in what one could only assume was anger. His gaze was again met, this time with not just one, but a barrage of green energy orbs.

Up above, the orange skinned and red haired beauty known as Starfire dropped starbolt after starbolt upon the nefarious HIVE member. She put her hands together and raised them high behind her head, charging a large energy blast.

"Starfire! Look out," a shrill boyish voice, the voice of Beast Boy cried.

The Tamaranean girl hesitated, her green on green eyes looking upward.

Screaming towards her at great speed was a child, but not just any child. His diminutive body was covered in green armor, with a large jet pack leaving a tail of fire and smoke in his wake. Gizmo. Like any mad genius, he cackled beneath his goggled mask.

"Chew on this scumball," he announced, a snide nasal tone permeating his voice as he fired a set of gray missiles from his suit.

Starfire gasped and rocked backwards, flying in reverse to escape the missiles, which were no doubt heat-seekers, Gizmo's trademark. She swerved and meandered through the tall city buildings, gradually climbing in altitude. A sharp left around a tall skyscraper and she saw her chance, diving straight down to the road below.

_"Thank X'hal there are no cars,"_ her inner voice exclaimed as she broke into a spine, causing the missiles tailing her to do so as well. Starfire was about to break into a low skim along the pavement when she saw it in mid spin.

A mini-van was fast approaching down the street!

The girl quickly changed course, shooting back up in a diagonal path just above the van's hood. The missiles followed, barely missing the vehicle or the now petrified occupants inside. Starfire had no time to turn and fire off a starbolt, and the missiles were too close...She flew harder, with all her alien strength.

She glanced back and suddenly noticed, the missiles were no longer chasing her, but held in a jet black strangle hold yards away.

Down below, a small girl, clad in an ebony cape and leotard held the missiles at bay, her hands pulsating with black energy.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos...," she repeated to herself. The Titan was the mysterious Raven, her usually violet eyes a focused shimmering black.

A huge hulking figure stalked towards her from behind. His uniform was black, the edges of his suit lined with yellow metal. He sported quite a mane of facial hair for a kid his age, and his hair was long and scraggly.

Mammoth was about to pounce, when the dark sorceress trained her gaze on him, "Don't even think about it...," her monotone voice almost commanding in its firmness, "Not that you do it often of course..."

The brute chuckled darkly taking a few steps back, "Smart enough to know those are timed charges..."

Raven blinked, the full volume of his words not registering until she heard the beeping, her dark oculars going wide. She had forgotten about the missiles.

_**BOOOOOM!**_

The shock wave of the explosive missiles sent a tremor through the roads of downtown. Traffic lights shook, and people hiding in buildings fell over or flinched, before continuing to watch the spectacle of meta-human melee.

The pale-skinned girl was flung far, smacking into a parked car. The alarm began to blare, the headlights on the automobile flashing angrily at whatever had disturbed it.

She rubbed her throbbing head, fingers clutching her short indigo locks.

"What's a matta'! Baby fall down and get a booboo," the burly Mammoth sneered. He looked down on Raven, cracking the knuckles in his fists...He'd waited a long time for this, "Don't worry, I'll fix you r...Hey wait...when did it get so dark?"

He noticed the lack of sunlight shining down on both Raven and himself...

"Uh-oh..."

_**CRUNCHHH!**_

Close to eight tons of green Tyrannosaurus Rex descended behind him, it's large muscular legs cracking the ground beneath it.

Mammoth blinked, completely speechless.

"Uhh...Hi?"

"_REEEOOOOAAAAARRRRR!"_

If there was ever a time that Mammoth screamed like a girl, this was it. The former-Hive student dove into a roll, before running for his life.

The T-Rex followed in hot pursuit.

**_STOMP! STOMP! STOMP!_** **_STOMP! STOMP!_**

"Here Lizard Lizard Lizard," a taunt from the left. The massive dinosaur turned, baring its teeth at the voice.

See-more smirked, a green-gloved hand on the dial of his one-eyed helmet, "Gotcha!" A bright flash of a beam shot out of his single eye, blinding the T-Rex's sensitive eyes. The form quickly morphed back in to its original state.

Beast Boy covered his green eyes, trying to adjust them to the light as quickly as he could.

The brown-skinned villain laughed his...unique...Bill Cosby chuckle, turning the dial once more and letting loose a beam of yellow energy. The blast hit the green Titan square in the chest, throwing him like a rag doll. The poor elf rolled a good five times before coming to a stop in the middle of the street.

"Hey string bean! Need a ride!" Mammoth shouted.

The youngest Titan regained his sense of sight, and suddenly wished he hadn't.

There stood Mammoth in the middle of the road, his massive arms holding up a silver city bus. An old trick, but this time, there were people trapped inside of the vehicle. A few of them glanced about in horror, wondering why the bus had stopped, and a few were waving their arms out of the windows, begging for help...With one old man in the back just snoring through it all, oblivious...

"I hope you got some change little man!"

The powerful meta human hurled the bus straight at Beast Boy. The Titan was still too dazed to spring up, much less get out of the way. He clenched his green eyes shut and waited for the end...

_**SLAM! SCREEEEEECH!**_

He waited...and waited...and waited...But the impact never came, despite the loud noise.

"Shouldn't I be dead or something," he thought out loud, eyes still tightly shut.

"Not when I gotcha' back!"

The changeling's eyes shot open. The half-machine half-man, better known as Cyborg held the bus in his hands. Two deep trenches of pavement were dug out, coming to a stop on his smoking metal heels. The tin-man turned and gave his buddy a wink with his human eye. He placed the bus down with a gentle thud, and in one mighty leap bounded over the bus, sonic cannon already prepped and glowing with bright blue fury.

Mammoth flinched, before being struck with a massive wave of Cy's sonic blaster. The sound hurt his eardrums to the very core and sent him flying through a pet store window.

See-more turned his dial again when he caught sight of the robotic Titan, his eye changing to a pale blue color.

"One EMP burst, coming right u-AAAGGGHHH!"

His carefully laid out plan was cut short by a green ram head butting him into an empty car's windshield. He groaned, noting the loud crack in his back. He was going to feel that in the morning. The cyclops struggled to gain footing on the hood of the car, but couldn't move his feet. See-more looked down and noted that the hood had been warped by black talons, and had wrapped itself around his skinny legs.

"Hey Hey! What the," he was flabbergasted.

Raven floated down beside the car, but she was glaring at the pet store.

"Hey Rae! No time for payback, Robin and Star need some back-up," Cy shouted as he tapped a button on his mechanical arm.

"Yeah Raven, let's go," Beast Boy motioned for her to follow, breaking into a run to follow his friend.

"Not so fast fart-sniffers," that annoying voice called out from behind.

Gizmo had both hands trained on the three heroes, the barrels of his laser weapons glowing, ready to unleash suffering.

"Your not going anywhere," he laughed, eager to test out his new weapons on the Titans.

A tap on the tiny scientist's shoulder snapped him out of his bravado...

"What do you wha-...Crud."

A fist full of Tamaranian justice hit Gizmo so hard that the armor literally began to fall apart as he flew through the air, before getting caught on a flagpole connected to a building.

Cyborg smirked, "That's a good look for him."

Starfire didn't have time to agree as she flew off to aid Robin.

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Robin crouched down into a low stance, swinging his bo-staff with reckless abandon. To some it would have looked like he was just flailing it around, but each swing, thrust, and strike was carefully timed and planned out. It had to be, as he was surrounded by close to fifteen Billy Numerous clones.

He swung low, sweeping one red-clad hill-billy off of his feet before reversing the direction of the pole and smashing the tip of it into the nose of another clone. The Boy Wonder quickly hopped into the air, performing a double kick which sent two other Billys into a group of their own kind, all of them tumbling down like bowling pins.

Robin used the momentum from the twin kick to back flip, catching another Billy in the back of the head with his metal bo. The masked boy landed gracefully, spinning his weapon, the twirl creating a symphony of sound as it cut the wind.

_PANG! POOM! PIFF!_

Three quick swings sent another set of Billy-clones reeling.

Robin quickly paused, noting that the numerous number of Numerous' were backing off.

"Wykkyd...," Robin swung his staff up high and over his head, and sure enough, a loud thud signaled a hit. The Titan turned and went into a flurry of bo-swings and strikes, working like mad to keep the usually calm mute from regaining his wits.

Kid Wykkyd seemed to have a look of shock on his face, backing off in a strange kind of gliding step. Robin didn't relent, diving into a slide that sent the length of his staff between the dark mute's legs.

_CLACK! CLACK! BAM!_

The Titan leader couldn't help but grin...His staff went from side to side, striking Kid in the insides of his knee joints, causing the villain to grit his teeth and clutch his knees. That left his crotch wide open for an upward swing. The look on Wykkyd's face was priceless as he doubled over in a fetal position, clutching his bruised genitals.

To his left, Robin could see Starfire unleashing what she called her, "righteous fury" on Billy Numerous. All of the clones scramble and scampered to get away from the burning hot starbolts.

"Hive Five, Let's blow this dive," he shouted into his hexagon shaped communicator. With those last words he...Or they rather, sprinted off in different directions.

Kid Wykkyd, who was still doubled over, melted into a mass shadow that sped away.

Robin allowed himself a small smile, wiping the sweat from mask. A jubilant Starfire bounced over to him.

"We are victorious!"

"Yeah...Feels good to know we can hold our own against them now," he was speaking the truth...They had never quite been able to beat the Hive Five on even terms...Usually something or someone intervened on the Titan's behalf when the two rival teams would go toe-to-toe, or the Hive delinquents would escape...This time however, they ran with their tails between their legs.

Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy rushed over to their two teammates.

"Aww man, did we miss all the fun," Cyborg remarked.

"Yep...Got Kid Wykkyd square in the family jewels..."

Beast Boy broke out into laughter, "Dude! No way! Did you really?"

The Boy wonder nodded, a smug grin now fully formed on his face.

This only caused the green elf to laugh harder.

"Didn't happen to get it on video tape did you?" Raven asked, the slightest hint of amusement in her voice.

Robin shook his head with a chuckle, "Next time."

_EEEEE-OOOOO-EEEEE-OOOOO!_

The telltale sirens of the Jump City Police Department rang out as a squad of police cars raced toward the scene. The Teen Titans glanced around. Several buildings had scorch marks from starbolts or laser beams. Several cars had been decimated, and a good portion of the streets were cracked, completely smashed, or so scarred they wouldn't be usable for several weeks.

The young heroes simpered.

"Well...at least we didn't blow up the Pizza Cove!" Beast Boy proclaimed.

The remaining Titans groaned.

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It hadn't taken long for the JCPD to sort out what had occurred. The Hive Five were reportedly seen in the downtown square, vandalizing several vehicles and causing a violent disturbance. The Teen Titans stepped in, as usual, and sorted the mess out by getting the Five delinquents to disperse.

Sergeant Miller sighed, filling out the report as the Titans gave it to him. He had placed the white helmet of his armored uniform on the hood of his car, and was currently reclining back against the driver-side door as he wrote.

"Any motive for the attack," The pepper haired man asked.

Robin shook his head, "I dunno...I think they just wanted to have a quick rip and run through the city. With those five you can't be to sure of their motives."

"No chance it could be a part of something bigger?"

"I doubt it. The Hive Five isn't known for pulling big crimes."

"What about the time they tried to capture Kid Flash?"

"Like I said...," Robin muttered.

A pause.

"Right."

The Titan nodded to the Sergeant and began to walk off to rejoin his team.

"If you find anything, be sure to relay it to us!"

"Will do," Robin replied with a quick wave, before heading to the T-car.

Robin however, wasn't as nonchalant about the situation as he had appeared. There definitely was something amiss, but it wasn't the Hive Five he was worried about. He cupped his chin and felt his stride begin to slow as he reviewed several facts about their encounter in his head. Something just didn't smell right.

"Robin, are you alright?"

Starfire...Always worried about him.

"I'm fine."

Cyborg glanced up from his arm console, "Uh-oh...What's up?"

"Nothing..."

"Yeah, and where have we heard that one before," Beast Boy added.

"I'm serious."

"Sure you are."

Even Raven was jumping in.

Robin stopped and folded his arms across his chest, giving an impromptu "Robin-glare" to his teammates. Unfortunately, it was never quite as effective the dreaded "Bat-glare"...Maybe it was the pointy ears, but Robin could never pull it off. Once he realized it wasn't working, he tried the next best thing.

"Let's go get some pizza..."

The Titans were more than willing to give in to Robin's moody moments for a few slices of pizza. They trusted him enough, and hey there was free pizza!

They all climbed into Cy's brand new, rebuilt for the umpteenth time, T-car and sped off for Pizza Cove.

A keen eye from high above was watching them, a figure crouched low on a tall building.

"Found you...!"

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

"So Robin _munch_ what's the _munch_ deal? Impromptu pizza-break, but you haven't _gulpgulpgulp _eaten a thing." Beast Boy asked his fearless leader, inbetween wolfing down his veggie pizza and guzzling his soda.

"It's just..."

Starfire turned to her dear friend, wiping a bit of mustard from her chin. It was decidedly harder to neatly eat mustard pizza than most people would think, "It is alright friend Robin. You can tell us."

" Well I..."

"Yeah Rob, you've been zoning out ever since we kicked the Hive Five's butt! You should be feelin' good right about now."

"Cy...That's not it..."

Raven sighed, "Did you think it was too easy? We have been basically training nonstop for the past few months...Fieldwork against the Brotherhood will do that."

"QUIET!"

The Titans all stopped in a stunned silence. They could practically see the throbbing vein on Robin's forehead.

"Look...I'm not worried about the Hive Five right now...I am worried about something else."

The rest of his friends leaned in, eager to hear what he had to say.

"Haven't you all felt...Well...Like something has been off lately?"

He got four sets of blank stares.

"Okaaaay...Let me try again. We defeated the Brotherhood, which was no small feat. It required the help of countless allies from all over the planet, but somehow we managed to defeat a powerful, experienced, and well established criminal organization."

Beast Boy reclined back in his seat, placing his hands behind his head and propping his feet up on the table, "Yeeeeah...No need to thank me. I was just doin' what comes naturally!"

Robin just looked at him.

"Shutting up now..."

"Thank you."

"As I was saying...We managed to do the impossible. But something happened. Everything was ripe for us to do even greater things. We had close to over forty honorary Titans ready to join up, yet when the Brotherhood was defeated we all just went our separate ways. We could have formed a more organized unit...Heck, even different chapters of Titans across the world would have been acceptable."

There was a long silence. The same thing had been on all their minds.

"Robin...You couldn't force them to choose you over their own lives. Many of them had homes, places they themselves had to defend. We can't expect them to just pack up and join us here in Jump...," Raven responded.

"I know that...I didn't want to force them to do anything. I wanted them to join of their own accord, which many did...in a way. When it came to finally getting a group formed however, everyone just bailed on us."

Cyborg swallowed another bite out of his meat lover's pizza, "Maybe some of them got cold feet. I mean, most of them had never fought anything like the Brotherhood before. If I was a young newbie I would be a little freaked too. They actually tried to wipe us out man! I mean, a month ago, being a Titan alone was dangerous."

"True...But since then, weirder things have been happening."

Beast Boy visibly flinched in mid chew, although he tried his best to hide it. Both Raven and Cyborg picked up on it but said nothing.

"That white symbiont that ran amok in town a few days ago...Slade's reappearance...Not to mention-" Robin noticed Beast Boy's discomfort, "Well...You guys get the picture."

Starfire sighed, "Robin...It is not like these events are not important, but we should not dwell too much upon them right now. There is no way to piece it all together. You yourself said so."

"Yeah, I know...I know."

Beast Boy finally built up enough courage to speak, "Y-Yeah! I mean, it's not like Slade's just gonna jump us out in the open or anything!"

"Which means he'll come at us sideways...In the dark, where we can't see him. We have to be ready for it."

Robin felt a hand on his shoulder, and smile when he felt it squeeze affectionately, "Do not worry Robin, whatever happens we will be ready. Slade will not know what has hit him! And we have faith in you!"

The masked boy couldn't help but marvel at her. She was always able to balance him, and keep him steady. He didn't want to admit, at least not aloud that she was a pillar for his strength. Honestly, what would he do without her?

Probably become like..._him._

Robin shuddered inwardly at the thought.

Raven finished off her herbal iced tea, "Shouldn't we be getting back now? It is starting to get late..."

Robin nodded, "Yeah...I'm glad I could get all this out into the open though...I actually feel a lot better now."

Starfire giggled and draped both of her arms in one of his, clinging to him with a smile on her face. No matter how much the leader tried to stifle it, a blush rose in his cheeks and his body went stiff as the Titans made their way back to the T-car.

Cyborg prodded Beast Boy with an elbow, winking at the couple.

The Changling snickered silently, making kissy faces to an invisible head.

Raven just raised an eyebrow as she caught BB breaking into a full tongue maneuver with his invisible lover. Beast Boy paused in mid kiss and chuckled helplessly, scratching the back of his head, "I was just...umm...heh heh...awwwwkward..."

If she didn't think him a total idiot at that moment, she might have found it amusing.

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

_"Sentinel...You got a visual?"_

_"Affirmative, they just left the restaurant."_

_"What was that stuff they were eating anyway?"_

_"Keep focused Superboy...We have more important matters at hand."_

_"I was just curious."_

_"Uhhmm...Can we actually make a strike from here?"_

_"Negative Geoforce, we'll wait until they are somewhat clear of the general public."_

_"And what if they...don't get clear?"_

_"They will when they get a load of what heat vision can do..."_

_"That's smart...roast a few citizens while we're screwing with the time space continuum!"_

_"Why don't we just head over to the Tower and bash the door down, you know? Take no prisoners?"_

_"I thought you were stupid but I was mistaken...Your suicidal."_

_"Their primitive technology wouldn't be able to stop the S-man!"_

_"Remember that primitive technology mops the floor with you during combat practice..."_

_"You have upgrades, that's different!"_

_"Technology aside, we only have one target...We might want to limit the amount of contact with the other four...It may be unavoidable but we can at least try."_

_"Cut the chatter! They've gone off the main road."_

_"I'm still on em'...The intersection about 3 minutes ahead should be suitable for our attack."_

_"Everyone hear that? Three minutes, then we strike..."_

_"Uhh...who's going to-?"_

_"I-I could do it."_

_"Menagerie..."_

_"You can sit this one out girl...We'll understand."_

_"No...I can do it."_

_"But it's your-"_

_"I know..."_

_"-sigh- Alright...It's settled then, rendezvous at the north side of the intersection and wait. Once Menagerie engages, fall into Attack plan Theta."_

_"Will do."_

_"Copy that."_

_"Let's get it on..."_

_"..."_

Silence fell over the communication frequency...

_"Menagerie...?"_

_"Yes...?"_

_"Will you be alright?"_

_"I'm not afraid of-"_

_"No...I mean will you BE all right?"_

_"... ... ... Yes."_

_"Don't push yourself to hard."_

_"...Understood."_

_"And stay safe..."_

_"..."_

Silence, once again.

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

The T-car sped down the street as fast as Cyborg could legally go. He grinned, enjoying every minute behind the wheel of his car. Robin was at his right, still somewhat down but his mood had definitely lightened up. He even told a joke...Although it wasn't a very good one.

Beast Boy chuckled in the back seat, "Okay...Okay! I've got a good one. You guys are gonna love this."

Starfire clasped her hands together and giggled, "Oh do tell us!"

Raven kept her nose buried in a small yellow book, "Oh yes...do tell...I feel like having an aneurysm today..."

Beast Boy stuck his tongue out, but proceeded to tell his joke anyway. "Okay...What do they say in the Hamburger business?"

All four of the Titans blinked, glancing at the elf.

"Say what?"

"Huh?"

"I don't understand...?"

"Dear Azar..."

"No, seriously! What do they say in the Hamburger business?"

The silence was his cue that no one in the car knew the answer.

"They say, 'Lettuce Ketchup!'"

_**SMAAAAASSHHHHH!**_

The Titans jerked their heads forward in alert. Something had smashed on the hood of the T-car, crushing the engine beneath its massive weight.

Crouched on the hood of their car, was a green and black stripped beast, looking like a cross between a Saber tooth Tiger, and a Lion. It's claws were at least six to eight inches long, with deadly looking fangs that protruded down from the top of its mouth. The tell-tale feature of the beast however, was the four-red burning eyes that glared at the occupants inside.

"_ROOOOAAAAAARRRR!"_

The Titans screamed as Cyborg lost control of the vehicle, and they were sent careening towards the corner of a convenient store.

"Cy! Look out," Robin yelled, gripping the jesus bar.

They wouldn't be able to avoid it...

_**SKREEEEE! CRRRASSSHHHH!**_


	3. Arrival, Part 2

There was silence in the wake of the crash...

Cyborg had done his best to keep control, but the T-car had swerved hard and had smashed into the corner of the convenient store, ricocheting off into the middle of the of the intersection.

The beast that had attacked them had jumped off of the hood of the car, now nowhere to be seen. Pieces of the T-car were strewn everywhere, from engine parts to bits of the chassis itself and two thick black skid marks had traced the path of the vehicle to its current resting place.

Robin was the first to speak up, "Is everyone alright?"

Starfire leaned inbetween the two front seats, "We are fine. What was that creature?"

Cyborg's face was grimly serious as he turned to Raven in the back, "That thing had four red-eyes...Look familiar?"

Raven just shook her head with wide unflinching eyes, still in shock.

Beast Boy leaned over to her, "Raven...?"

The dark girl began to shake like a leaf.

"Raven?"

No answer.

He shook her shoulder with a firm hand to snap her out of it, "Raven!"

Her gazed snapped to Beast Boy. She realized that she was trembling and swallowed the lump in her throat.

"I don't know," she hesitated, "I've never seen anything like it...There's no way it could be-"

Her words were cut short by the sound of scraping metal.

_**SKREEEEE! SKREEEEE! SKRRRRSSHHHH!**_

Claws grinded and ripped at the T-Car's roof, leaving thin streaks of open sky. The demonic creature above began to shred at the once immaculate metal hard top, causing the automobile to shake and groan under its weight.

Starfire screamed, jerking back into her seat as low as she possibly could. A gaping hole was torn open in the roof, and the fierce beast struggled to get inside of the vehicle, four red-eyes glaring at Raven.

_**KER-CLICK!**_

The audible sound of Cyborg's sonic cannon got the beast's attention.

"GET OUTTA MY CAR," the mechanical Titan shouted, letting loose a blast of sonic energy at point blank range. It hit the creature square in the eyes, catapulting it off the roof and onto the street about 15 yards away. It seemed to be at the very least unconscious as it lay on the pavement.

Robin unbuckled his seat belt and leaped off of what was left of the roof. Starfire and Beast Boy helped a still unnerved Raven out of the back. Cyborg had to kick his crushed driver's side door open, and was positively fuming. His cannon still humming, ready to dish out more.

"Your gonna pay for what you did to my baby! Get up so I can blast you again!"

"Cyborg, wait," Raven cried.

He stopped in his tracks, raising an eyebrow at the girl, "What's the hold-up?"

"Regardless of where that creature is from, it bears the mark of Trigon. Don't go near it," she implored.

Cyborg blinked, "I thought you K.O.'ed old four-eyes way back when...Isn't he supposed to be dead?"

"Sort of, but this creature is different...It's power is the same as mine, a byproduct of Trigon. Please, stay back!"

Robin pulled out two throwing disks, cautiously coming closer to the creature.

Beast Boy's eyes went wide like dinner plates, his arms flailing, "Did you NOT just hear the creepy warnings of doom?"

Starfire's green on green eyes went wide, "Robin, stay away from that monster!"

The Boy Wonder got about eight feet away from the beast when dark energy enveloped its form and peeled away to reveal a green skinned girl. He noted the dark clothing she wore, right down to the spiked collar and bracelets, but most of all, he looked at her ears...Elfin ears.

Silence fell on the five as they stared at the unconscious form.

Only Beast Boy could find the one word to sum up the feelings of the Titans.

"Ooookayyyyy..."

The masked boy turned to his teammates, "It's alright. She's out like a light."

The looks on their faces said different.

"What?"

Cyborg elaborated, "Well, for starters- SHE'S GETTING UP!"

Robin turned back, and found the girl was indeed getting to her feet, slender green fingers rubbing her temples, eyes tightly shut. She looked like she had a splitting headache.

The Titan's leader eased forward, putting his disks away, "It's okay, we're not gonna hurt you."

"Speak for yourself! She turned my car into a scratching post!"

A pause, "Not helping..."

The green girl shook suddenly, like she had been struck in the face. A low whine escaped her black painted lips.

Robin inched closer, "Are you alright? Do you need help?"

"_REEEEEEEEHHHHHAAAAHHHH!"_

Her answer was an inhuman screech as she charged at him, black shadow forming vicious claws. The girl swiped wildly at his masked face, growling and hissing with each swing. Robin was barely missing her ferocious attacks, ducking low and jerking back to keep his face from her razor sharp talons. He cocked his leg and kicked out to her face with a steel-booted foot, the heel of his shoe landing square in her face.

Her head flew back from the impact, but as he lowered it, those four-red eyes had returned to her features. She flashed a grin that made Robin's blood go cold, bearing a pair of fangs that gave completed her demonic appearance.

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

Above the lonely intersection, the remaining four future Titans stood, watching as their fellow member renewed her frenzy.

Sentinel ran a hand over his long dreadlocks, his silver eyes analytically taking in the fight below, "She's losing it. The beast is taking over again." He raised his right arm and tapped a few buttons on its holographic display, "I'm gonna have to tranq' her."

Nightstar came up beside him, placing a hand on his holo-display, "She's still on target. She knows Raven is the real objective."

He shot her a questioning look, "Then why the hell is she attacking Robin? Remember what I said? Minimal contact with the others. She's disregarded orders, thrown our attack plan completely out the window, and may very well go completely feral on us!"

Superboy yawned, "Look on the bright side. Even if she doesn't snap out of it, once she finishes Raven off we wont have to worry about putting her down."

The dark-skinned Titan glared at the Boy of Steel, "...I'll pretend I didn't hear that."

"And I'll pretend that I give a rat's ass..."

"Enough," Nightstar closed her eyes in frustration. The two quarreling Titans went into a brief uneasy silence.

"It doesn't matter if she finishes Raven, but in case you've forgotten, if she takes out our parents when we go too," Sentinel remarked.

Even Superboy didn't respond to that one. It was one of the rare moments that a serious expression washed over his face.

"Then what do we do Nightstar," the red and blue teen asked.

She remained silent, her eyes closed.

"M'ari?"

Geoforce shielded his eyes from the slowly setting sun, but said nothing as he watched Menagerie and the Titans clash. The deep frown on his face said everything.

_Why aren't we stopping this?_

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

She came at him again, raising her claws high as she jumped before bringing them down in a deep rake. Robin barely had the speed to back off, her claws scratching the front of his red uniform. The Boy Wonder pulled out his bo-staff, hoping he could use it to get some distance between himself and the shape shifter, but one snipe split the metal pole in half.

The girl took advantage of his brief shock and leaped into the air, drop kicking Robin directly in the chest. The blow sent him staggering back, but he managed to stay on his feet. He twirled what remained of his bo-staff, a barely 3 foot long pole and got into a ready stance by turning his body to the side, leaving less of him open to attack.

Even as he planted his foot however, she was coming at him again, her arms growing in size, taking on a bulky shape, similar to that of a gorilla. She didn't waste any time, landing several heavy punches that connected on Robin's face. His body jerked with each powerful, and a sweeping kick to his gut left him breathless and on his knees.

A blue beam of sonic energy shot out, making a bee-line straight for her. In one fluid motion she slammed her boots on Robin's back and used him as a springboard, vaulting over the blast and straight for the one who fired it. She landed on Cyborg's chest, holding onto his shoulders with her large black hands. The tin-man's eyes went wide and a gasp escaped him, as shadow merged on her brow, forming a rhino's horn...He knew what was coming, but wasn't fast enough to stop it.

_BAM! SLAM! BAMM!_

Her assault on his half-metal cranium was excruciating, each smashing blow leaving a large dent on his metal side, or a bruise on his human side. All the cybernetic hero could do was try and push her off of him, but each attempt was met with another skull-cracking blow to the head.

"Cyborg," Beast Boy cried. He morphed into a raptor and charged to rescue his friend. The green reptile hissed, bearing its sharp teeth, claws tapping at the ground with each stride. The girl nonchalantly raised a hand and took a swipe at him, her shadowed hand extending far behind her current prey, smacking the dinosaur across the face. The jarring blow knocked the raptor off to the side, the lizard transforming back into a subdued green changeling.

The shadow finally melted away from her face and she rolled over his massive frame, but kept her grip on his robotic shoulders. She landed gracefully behind him, arms bent back to keep a hold on him. Cyborg barely had time to scream as she raised him over her head with unnatural strength and slammed him head first into the concrete.

The pavement beneath him gave way and broke under his heavy weight, but she wasn't done with him. She gripped him by his waist and hoisted him up again. The human side of Cyborg's face was twisted in anguish, but his verbal cries were cur short as he collided with the pavement again and again, completely at the mercy of his unknown assailant.

The neon-blue panels embedded in his metal body began to dimmed and before turning a deathly pale gray. Satisfied, the girl dropped him, his legs dangling over him until she pushed the large Titan over, leaving him sprawled out on the ground.

Starfire's eyes shined bright with green fury, eager to avenge her friends with starbolts in hand. She bellowed a loud war cry to X'hal, the Tamaranean goddess, and threw a blinding barrage of green orbs at the dark haired girl. It phased the possessed girl little however, for as each bolt collided with her small body, a shield of black shadow formed, stopping the blazing hot energy before it could do any damage.

Raven grabbed the Tamaranean girl's shoulder tightly, "Starfire stop! You can't beat her alone."

Starfire hesitantly relented in her attack as the girl closed in slowly, almost methodically. It was like watching a cat approach a cornered mouse, the girl's lips curled in a toothy feral grin, while those four red eyes blazed with an unholy fury.

Starfire's eyes blazed back with equal fire, "Then let's stop her together."

Raven raised her darkening palms, while her alien-friend charged a powerful starbolt in her clenched fists. The two gave a fierce yell before combining their powers, the two energies swirling together like a corkscrew as the beam screamed towards it target.

The heavy blast struck the crazed assailant, but her own shield of ebon energy protected her once again. The beam bounced off of her petite frame and was sent skyward.

The two Titans backed off as the girl closed in.

"Not good..."

"Agreed."

"Her soul-self isn't that powerful...I'll distract her. When you see an opening..."

"Commence with the kicking of the butt," the Tamaranean cried, quickly floating up and out of her opponent's reach, where she hovered, starbolts ready.

Raven steeled herself and charged, leaping into the air and unleashing a flurry of kicks. The green skinned girl smirked, nonchalantly blocking each kick like it was a game of tag, offering no opportunity for Starfire to attack from above.

Before the Raven could readjust herself, a claw lashed out at her stomach, leaving four red gashes in her black leotard. She backed off, clutching her abdomen and gritting her teeth in pain. The uppercut that followed sent her crashing to the ground.

The possessed girl didn't pounce, as Raven thought she would, but instead leaped in the air.

"Starfire look out!"

The airborne Titan gasped.

Menagerie giggled like an insane five-year old as she collided with Starfire in mid air, wrapping her dark fingers around the alien's throat. The Tamaranean gurgled for air as they both fell to the earth. Had it not been for Raven's soul self forming a slope to the roll them gently onto the ground Starfire would have been crushed.

The possessed girl did not relent however, her madness deepening as he clenched her hands even tighter around Starfire's neck.

A pair of big burly arms latched onto Menagerie from behind. The hefty gorilla arms of a very angry Beast Boy lifted her off of his friend and held her tight, making sure to keep her deadly arms down where they couldn't lash out.

Starfire rolled over onto her knees and coughed violently, her lungs gasping for air.

Raven kneeled beside the alien to make sure she was alright, before attending to business of her own. The wild girl that was thrashing about in a green gorilla's arms, screeching at him like a banshee.

The sorceress cautiously approached, raising her pale hands into the air. Slowly, the familiar words began to escape her lips, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos..."

**"EAAAAHHHRRRR,"** the girl cried, becoming even more aggravated by the holy words that had been taught to Raven years ago. It was like anathema to her as she convulsed, a look of pain crossing over her demonic eyes.

The gorilla nodded, keeping a tight grip on the girl. If he could have said something in his animal form, he would have cheered Raven on. Nonetheless, the dark girl's chanting became faster, more incessant, like a command. Like an order for Trigon's spirit to leave the body of the girl.

Black shadow once again covered the petite girl's form, and Beast Boy had to use every ounce of strength he had to hold her in place. A worried look crossed his ape form's face.

The burst of soul-self energy that erupted from the girl's form was tremendous, sending a shock wave of black shadow everywhere and sending Raven, Starfire, and a very surprised gorilla on their backs. The girl landed on her feet as if nothing had happened, her four eyes still glowing red. The only difference was that she was most definitely angry. The snarl on her black lips was loud enough to be heard even from the rooftops.

In a dark voice, masculine and deep, she spoke, **"Pathetic...I truly expected more from my only daughter."**

Raven's head shot up, her violet eyes wide with fear, "No...No... We stopped you. I finished you!"

The voice chuckled somewhere inside the girl's throat. It was obvious the voice was not her own, **"I am eternal...Dearest daughter. I am not going anywhere." **

Menagerie closed in on Raven, the grin on the petite girl's face was that of amusement and smug arrogance. Raven raised a hand towards the girl, her fingers pulsating with dark energy, "Don't come any closer!"

**"Heh heh heh...If you truly have the power to destroy me, why bother with threats?"**

Raven was about to answer, but the metal pole that struck Menagerie in the back of the head stole her moment.

The girl turned, dazed from the dizzying blow to her head, and was greeted with a sonic blast to the midsection that shook her to the core. Cyborg grinned, firing off one last shot that left the girl unconscious, and this time, the Titan made sure his blast was powerful enough to get the job done.

Robin grinned, spinning a fresh bo-staff between his fingers, "If only we could have done that the first time..."

Raven blinked, the curve of a smile forming on her lips as she struggled to her feet, "Thanks for the backup."

Cyborg was helping a staggering Beast Boy to his feet, "It's not like we were real busy after getting our butts handed to us."

Raven smirked, "Stick to your fast food jokes BB. Sarcasm doesn't become you."

Her comment was met with an outstretched tongue.

"Much better."

Robin leaned down to Starfire, "Hey, are you okay?" Starfire had begun to breath normally again, looking up at the Titan, "I am now..."

"I'm glad...," Robin replied with a smile of relief.

_**HeeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEE!**_

A sharp whistling sound echoed in the streets, the sound that bombs made in old World War II films.

Beast Boy blinked, looking around nervously, "What is that?"

The noise was getting louder

Still on her back, Raven looked up, and saw it coming. She pointed a finger skyward, "Above us!" A bright ball of glowing blue energy was crashing down upon them, but it was different, casting undulating waves of light around it as it fell. The sound grew louder, the whistle becoming a loud ringing.

The Titans didn't have time to scatter as it crashed into the pavement with a bright blinding flash, and the ringing became an earsplitting blast of sound.

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

Starfire blinked back tears as the bright light in her resilient eyes began to fade. She thanked X'hal that her eyes were built to resist such bright rays of light, the kind that she might experience in the vacuum of space. The Tamaranean got to her feet, catching her second wind and looked around to find the source of the attack.

It did not take long for her to notice that her fellow Titans were still incapacitated, clutching their ears from the sound waves, or shielding their eyes from the flash. It also didn't take long for her to notice that they were surrounded by four figures.

One in particular caught her interest.

She was most definitely Tamaranean, the eyebrows gave it away, along with her unusually lithe figure that was wrapped in a black suit. It reminded her of Nightwing's costume. She even wore a black and white mask that hid her eyes. Still, there was a hint of Tamaranean-inspired design in her outfit.

Starfire blinked in shock, "R'uh na'ackt euul jackt?"

The one in red and blue blinked, "Oh great! She's babbling funny alien talk."

The masked girl looked at her incredulously.

Starfire continued in Tamaranean, "Mr'i vor weishu be'ruut? Tam'ran vor weishu be'ruut?"

He groaned as placed his fingers in his ears, "Now shut her up!"

Again, her words were met with a blank stare beneath the girl's mask.

Starfire would have said more, but a heavy unseen weight shoved her aside and held her body flat against a brick building. The blond haired Geoforce held out a gloved hand that was surrounded by a yellow aura, "Sorry Miss Starfire...," he said, a sad tone in his young voice, "It won't take long. We promise."

The Tamaranean blinked, not comprehending his words until the remaining three turned towards a recovering Raven, who hadn't yet caught sight of them. Starfire's eyes went wide, "No! Leave friend Raven alone!" She began to struggle against the force that had bound her to the wall, her green eyes blazing with fierce determination.

Geoforce sighed, "It's not up to us."

The tallest one, dressed in black and gray leaned down to the defeated shifter that had nearly choked Starfire to death. He gently tapped her cheeks with his palm, "Come on Menagerie...Wake up. Come on." The girl groaned and awoke, a single pair of shining violet . Her voice was much different than before; meek and childlike, "What happened?"

The boy gave a subdued smile, "Thought we lost you. Come on, let's get you on your feet." He gently lifted her up.

"If you are done making googly eyes at each other, we have a mission to complete," Superboy shouted.

Her lips wavered a little as she spoke, "It's not over?"

His face grew hard and serious, "Not yet..."

The one in red and blue started towards Raven, "Then enough with the yak-yak! Let's finish her off already!"

A pair of mechanical arms slid under his and wrapped around the back of his neck, putting him in a half-nelson. The effects of the concussion blast had worn off, and Cyborg had a tight grin on Superboy, "Sorry, but threatening my friends tends to put me in a bad mood!" Even the Boy of Steel noted his strength, for he couldn't free himself from the cyborg's grip.

"Same with me," Robin added, his bo-staff raised towards Nightstar. "Who are you and why are you attacking Raven?" The girl didn't answer and instead, drew a bo-staff of her own, extending the tip right back at Robin.

"It's none of your business..."

"Your after Raven...I'm making it my business..."

The low growl caught Sentinel's attention and he turned to his right, towards Beast Boy. The green Titan didn't have to speak to get his point across, bearing his fangs instead. The tall boy began his approach, clenching his metal fists. They illuminated with blue sonic energy, their hum a clear warning to the changeling. Sentinel didn't have to speak to get his point across either.

The last two could only stare at each other.

On one side, Menagerie stood, looking a little unsure of herself now that she wasn't possessed. Despite that, she balled her green fists and got into a ready stance, keeping her legs shoulder length apart, one leg slightly forward. Her face was a mixture of nervousness, anticipation, and worry.

Raven could only wonder what had happened to the vicious fighter that she had encountered earlier, replaced by this scared little girl. The sorceress leveled her hands toward her adversary, calling forth her black soul-self around her fingers, eyes glowing white, "You belong here..."

The girl visibly winced at those words, a hurt that went straight to the heart yet seemed to bolster her resolve rather than weaken it, "I know..."

The ten heroes became silent.

A standoff.

They didn't move, they didn't speak, and some didn't even breathe. It was unknown how long they stood waiting, but all at once, without warning, the intersection erupted into chaos.

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

Superboy lowered his body down, forcing Cyborg off of his feet, and shot backwards in a bursts of flight, sending both of them crashing into a building. As they collided with the structure, Cyborg's grip loosened, and gave his opponent the chance he needed to escape. Superboy wasted no time, slamming his left elbow into the side of Cyborg's head and following up by shifting his body in midair to give the mechanical Titan a strong right cross to the cheek.

The force of the blow dug Cyborg even deeper into the side of the building, but he wasn't about to be defeated so easily.

_KER-CLICK! KER-CLICK! KER-CLICK!_

The panels in his shoulders and chest opened up to reveal an assortment of missle pods. The small projectiles ignited and released themselves at point blank range, finding their target mere inches away.

_**KA-BOOOM!**_

The deafening explosion rocked the street, but did little against Superboy, who's uniform was only slightly blackened from the blast. The smoke however, was enough to choke and left The Boy of Steel hacking and coughing as he backed off to get clear of the fumes.

Two blue beams of sonic energy burst forth from the ball of smoke and struck him square in the chest, leaving Superboy on his back in a daze. The loud thud of metal feet landing on top of him brought the boy back to reality.

"You like messing with girls, eh? How about messing with me!" the titanium Titan yelled, before assailing the object of his anger with his heavy fists, pummeling Superboy into the ground beneath his large frame. Cyborg didn't relent for a second, taking all of his anger out on the helpless Superboy below. He just kept on punching, each blow creating a booming rhythm and sending tremors through the street.

Cyborg ended his beating with a strong back fist across Superboy's face, leaving the boy groaning, bruised, and bleeding from his lip. With his rage spent and his breath ragged, the Titan stood over his opponent. The "S" caught his eye.

"...Just a wannabe poser."

The tremendous heat blast that struck Cyborg almost melted his metallic chest-plate, but luckily, he dove to the right before it could do any damage to his human parts. He was dumbfounded as to how the kid could still have any fight left after the beating he took.

Sure enough, Superboy was up and on his feet, looking completely pissed.

"Don't you ever call me a poser you freak!"

"What you call me!"

"You deaf? Your a FREAK! I wonder how much of you is still human? Bet you keep your leftover d in a glass jar!"

Cyborg's human eye narrowed. He had pushed a button that no one had pushed in since he had become what he was today, since he had joined the Titans, and it awoke something deep in the mechanical Titan. A hard bitterness and hatred.

"You asked for it punk...Now your butt is mine!"

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

"I'm not going to ask again! Who are you?" Robin shouted, sending his bo-staff into a flurry of strikes, each thrust going for the ribs and shoulders. Each thrust was deftly blocked with Nighstar's staff. He swung low and deep with the pole, hoping to catch her in the knee, but she slammed the tip of her staff into the ground, blocking the blow and leaped up into the air while holding onto her weapon.

Robin caught a kick across the face that left a red mark on his cheek, but brought his staff to bear again, leveling it at the masked girl.

She smirked, raising her staff high and bringing it down on Robin, who blocked by holding the staff on both ends and raising his bo high. Nightstar felt that familiar feeling of courage well up inside of her, and her inherited strength came to bear on her opponent.

Robin grunted, struggling to keep Nightstar's attack at bay. He quickly leaped back a few feet to get some distance between his attacker.

"Answer me!"

The amused look on her face vanished. He had hit a chord in her, "Dont." The girl's hands began to glow a deep cyan, a new onslaught beginning as she charged again, "Tell." The energy channeled into her bo staff, igniting the tips of her weapon in blue fire, "Me." She twirled the weapon, circular trail of blue-green fire, "What to DO!" She attacked with calculated rage, her flaming staff breaking Robin's bo with ease and leaving him vulnerable to her weapon.

Robin contorted his body to the left, using every muscle in his dexterous body to dodge the hot weapon. A high swing barely skimmed over his head, and singed the very tips of his spiky hair. He was glad his hair gel wasn't flammable, but had no time to reflect on it as the speed of Nightstar's strikes only quickened. She thrust the tip of her staff out at his solar plexus, and the only way The Boy Wonder could avoid it was to go into a full back bend.

He planted his gloved hands firmly onto the ground and used the momentum to bring his legs up. One leg swung out to his right, redirecting the staff, while the other went straight up. His boot collided with Nightstar's chin, her head jerking from the blow.

She growled, holding her now sensitive jaw in one hand, while using her staff to guard.

Robin landed in a low crouch and dug for his belt, unsheathing two bird-a-rangs. In practiced form, he compacted the two weapons together, and extended his bird-blade. He only used this weapon on occasions that involved life and death. Now was a perfect time to use it.

"Don't make me hurt you..."

Nightstar released her chin and worked her jaw a little, making sure it wasn't broken, "A little late for that don't you think?"

"It's never too late...Just back off and we'll talk about this."

"There's nothing left to talk about," her staff seemed to ignite with a newfound fire and Robin could feel the heat even at a distance. Sweat dripped from his brow, but he didn't give an inch, leveling the tip of his word at her.

"Your choice."

A battle cry, and they continued.

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

Sentinel held the green wolf by throat with his left hand, his stoic demeanor broken and his temper leaking through his normally calm features. Silver gloves kept a grip on Beast Boy, but their owner wouldn't give the changeling a chance to transform.

His right fist glowed with sonic energy, and a powerful haymaker connected, smashing into the Beast Boy's canine ribcage. The following concussion detonated, rocketing the Titan into a telephone pole. The heavy wooden beam shook from the impact, and the elf transformed back into his humanoid form on his stomach. He struggled to block the pain shooting through his back.

He barely managed to get his head up, when a foot came crashing into it, flipping the small teen onto his back. The green Titan could feel the warm red blood issuing from his nose.

A silver hand gripped the front of his purple and black costume, lifting him up to meet the the gaze of his dreadlocked adversary.

Even though Beast Boy's vision was blurred, he could still see the inner-works of those silver eyes. They were robotic, no doubt able to see more than most humans could.

"It's all your fault..."

Garfield could barely respond, "Huh...? Wha...?"

A head butt from Sentinel didn't help, further injuring his already bleeding nose.

"You and your mutated DNA...Your just as guilty as Raven," he yelled, and prepared to strike once more.

A hairy green claw caught his fist and held it firmly. The dark-skinned boy's eyes went wide with surprise as the once small boy took shape. He grew to a good seven feet in height; bearing vision fangs, a bushy mane that resembled a lion's, combined with fierce bear/dog features. In a quick burst of speed, the creature attacked, clawing and slashing at an unprepared Sentinel.

Beast Boy had quite literally 'Unleashed the Beast'.

His claws left deep trenches of marks in the metal plates of Sentinel's armor, and deep gashes of red when they penetrated his thick costume. The only thing that saved his throat was a quick roll to the side, but the Beast was again upon him.

Sentinel extended a fist and fired a concussion blast directly into the face of the Titan. The bright blast and sharp piercing explosion was enough to stall the Beast for a moment.

The Beast didn't even have time to regain his hearing before a flurry of blue blades came humming towards him. The nimble monster quickly somersaulted over the slicing wrist blades and landed behind his attacker.

The only defense Sentinel could muster in time was crossing his blades together, as the claws clashed against the glowing weapons. It became a battle of strength as the two pressed forwad, their weapons grinding against each other.

The boy managed to slip a leg under the tight defense and sent a crushing kick into the Beast's stomach. It wouldn't injure the juggernaut of a creature, but it did cause him to react enough for his guard to weaken. A strong shove followed with a loud "Hraah!" as Sentinel managed to break Beast Boy's defense.

And as the green Titan staggered back, Sentinel sprinted in pursuit, his blades slicing at his foe with renewed vigor.

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

Starfire's green eyes ignited, releasing her eye starbolts upon an unknowing Georfoce. The twin beams sent him rolling onto the street, his orange and clay-red suit marred with a pair of black circles. He patted at his smoking chest, gasping at the sheer force of the deceptive attack.

The Tamaranean fell from the wall and onto her feet, starbolts waiting for whatever her opponent would send her way.

"Cool...," he said, "I didn't know you could do that!"

The alien threw him a look of confusion, unsure of whether to thank him for the compliment, or to blast him with another starbolt. Geoforce quickly recovered from the hit and extended both hands towards her.

"But I bet you didn't know **I** could do this!"

A searing wave of heat erupted from his hands, yellow waves racing towards Starfire. She fly straight up just in time to avoid the scalding hot blast that left a gaping hole in the wall where she once stood. He didn't relent, keeping a focused beam of heat that trailed after the Titan, leaving burn marks in buildings as he sought to bring the girl down.

Starfire responded in kind with a barrage of starbolts as she retreated from the hot waves. The small green bolts of energy peppered the pavement around the blond-haired teen, but none hit their mark. She was too busy dodging the beam of heat to take careful aim.

Geoforce finally lowered his hands, the heat dissipating, "Alright...If you won't come down...," A burst of yellow issued from his feet that catapulted him into the air, and a hot trail of the same energy trailed behind him as he pursued the red-haired girl. He grinned, sliding the goggles over his eyes as he closed in on her. She quickly shot upwards, the two climbing even higher in altitude.

A brown glove wrapped around Starfire's ankle and glowed with earthly power. The boy had latched onto her, and his the weight of his gravity powers began to drag the Tamaranean down.

"Release me!"

"You promise to come down?"

A starbolt narrowly missed his ear.

"I'll take that as a no," he lamented.

He held on as tightly as he could, even as a starbolt hit him in the right side. Geoforce extended a free hand and released another blast of heat that burned Starfire's left hand before she could release another bolt.

It was at that moment that time seemed to slow down for the young Geoforce, and a redness spread on his cheeks. Starfire stopped her attack, curious as to his hesitant pause.

"Wow...they're pink..."

A slew of alien curses rang out as a purple-clad boot smashed onto the geomancer's blond head. The blow loosened his grip and the two separated, but were far from finished.

They circled each other high above the city's towering buildings, green bolts and yellow beams flying everywhere in the darkening sky above. Geoforce began to climb higher as another bolt landed on his shoulder. Once high enough he brought his hands down over the Tamaranean, and that invisible force worked on her body once more, but this time she resisted the extra pulls of gravity.

The goggled teen focused and with a loud cry unleashed a massive yellow wave of heat down on Starfire. The blast was a direct hit that sent the girl plummeting to the earth. A loud booming thud signalled her arrival.

She could hardly even move, her body smoking from the intense heat of the beam. With a weak whimper, she collapsed in a bed of the loose dirt that had been revealed in the wake of her impact with the road.

The glow in Geoforce's fingers faded, and the boy visibly winced as he saw her laying there.

"Sorry!"

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos," Raven chanted, pale hands pressed against the cold concrete, spreading her dark soul-self along the moonlit ground . The mass shadow streamed forth in pursuit of Menagerie, who had fallen back in a series of back flips that kept her mere inches from the black form.

From a backwards somersault she landed on the roof of a white sports car. The shadow quickly surrounded the parked car, and tendrils of dark power began to overtake the vehicle.

The girl's head darted around the car, noticing that she was surrounded. Under the assault of the magical power, the car began to groan and crunch, slowly being crushed.

Menagerie leaped from the vehicle towards Raven just as the remainder of the car was consumed, for she wasn't too eager to find out what the energy would do to her vulnerable flesh. The green-skinned girl sent out three quick kicks, trying in vain to get the sorceress to relent.

Raven's white eyes didn't flinch, as her dark hands blocked each blow with a wave of her soul-self. She caught one of Menagerie's ankles in a quick snatch and unceremoniously tossed the girl through the glass window of a nearby dwelling. Luckily, nobody was home.

The girl slowly hobbled out of the now open window, her right arm bleeding from numerous cuts.

"Owwie...Owwie...," she cried in a low whimpering voice, like a child with a sprained knee.

Even the stoic Raven couldn't watch and not have some sympathy for the girl, her white eyes shifting back to their normal violet, "Why are doing this?"

Menagerie raised glistening eyes towards Raven and wiped them with the sleeve of her black dress, before getting to her feet once again, summoning her claws once more.

"Because I don't belong."

She began to swipe wildly at the dark Titan, her claws stretching several feet to reach her. One claw narrowly missed the goth's weaving form, slicing a metal lamp post in two.

Raven ducked and weaved, her cloak fluttering against her form as she dodged the shifter's attacks. She flicked her wrist at Menagerie, releasing a burst of dark power that canceled out an impending claw, before launched another wave with her second hand, sending the girl airborne once again.

This time, Menagerie landed on her feet and crouched to stay stable, panting from fatigue.

The half-demon sighed, shaking her head, "Your drained from your transformation..."

"What do you know about it," the girl cried.

"I know that he tries to take hold of you."

Menagerie tried to respond, but couldn't find the words. She knew Raven was right.

"I know that you can't control it...I can help you, if you'll let me."

The elfin girl struggled to find something to say, her ebony-painted lips wavering. Her eyes watered once again, and her petite form sagged from exertion and blood loss. A small pool at formed beneath her green hand.

"Please..."

_**ZAAT!**_

A cyan starbolt smashed into Raven's back, burning a hole through her cape and sending the girl face first to the ground. The Titan rolled back onto her feet and called forth her dark powers once again.

Her eyes widened as a blue sonic blast collided with her chest, knocking her to her feet again.

The remaining four assailants had formed a wide semi-circle in front of her, while a shaky Menagerie was to her rear. She was surrounded.

"Where are my friends," Raven shouted.

Superboy obliged her, throwing a severed robotic arm to her feet. Raven scooted away from it as quickly as she could.

"Man, who knew Cyborg was such a friggin' tank? Put up one hell of a fight..."

"You didn't..."

Nightstar shook her head, her mask narrowed, "No...They aren't dead, just incapacitated."

Sentinel took a step forward, "We didn't mean for it go this way, but it can't be helped. It will however, end here."

Geoforce sighed, "We really are sorry..."

Raven got to her feet, "So that was your plan all along? Eliminate me?"

Superboy rolled his eyes, "Of course! You think we beat you guys senseless for a friendly 'How Doya Do?'?"

"Why?"

Menagerie answered, "Because you don't belong either."

Raven turned to the girl, then back to the other four. Her friends were unable to help her, and she was surrounded by a group of people who's only mission was to end her life. They were too powerful for the sorceress to bring down on her own...

A dark voice whispered in the depths of her mind, **_"You can win...Just give in...Wipe them out...All of them."_**

She quickly extinguished the thought and summoned her powers. Her soul-self swarmed around her, transforming her into a shadowy raven. The bird quickly dove for the ground and seemingly vanished in the dark night.

T-T-T-T-T-T-T

The dark shadow cast itself upon the ground, traveling as quickly as it could, until it was several blocks away. The dark energy finally came to a stop and swirled in a circle on the ground. Raven emerged from her soul-self a second later, breathing heavily as she collapsed onto the ground in a puff of dirt.

Her eyes took in her surroundings.

She had come to a stop in the middle of a construction site. In fact, the very same construction site where they had fought the white symbiont only a few days ago. The same place where Beast Boy claimed he had seen Terra once more.

Raven groaned, rising to her feet and brushing the dirt off of her leotard and cape, looking around as she did so. She breathed a sigh of relief, for she saw no sign of her pursuers.

It was then that the reality of her situation hit her. She was completely alone and sooner or later the five hunting her would find and finish what they started.

"I have to get out of here...I have to get away," she told herself aloud.

"Your not going anywhere!"

Raven gasped, and turned around.

Sure enough, the five were standing there, each one of them poised to attack.

"...No...," was all she could say, her eyes wide with fear.

"It ends here Raven...," Nightstar warned her as the five spread out to surround her and close in.

"Prepare to die..."

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

A/N: I'm such a bastard aren't I?


	4. Arrival, Part 3

An eerie silence had fallen over Jump City as day became night, and the once bright sky had darkened into an amalgam of black and midnight blue. The stars were absent on this night, leaving only the pale moon for lumination.

The streets were empty, leaving only the quiet whisper of the wind.

It was as if time itself had stopped all over the city.

_**BOOOM!**_

The earth-shaking explosion broke the silence as a bright fireball erupted on the far edge of a lonely construction site, tossing chunks of blackened yellow metal everywhere. The pungent smell of oil spread, noticeable for miles.

The lone Titan known as Raven panted heavily, cold sweat drenching her face. She had narrowly missed the small bulldozer that Superboy had thrown at her. The black shield that had protected her from the blast vanished, leaving her exposed.

The flames of the explosion had cast a bright orange light over the work site, and the shape of a muscular boy in blue and red picking up another piece of equipment caught the gothic girl's attention.

With a heavy grunt he lifted a large bulldozer over his shoulders, and hurled the massive construction vehicle straight at her.

Pale fingers thrusted out, dark energy playing against her palms.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

As the very last word escaped her lips, the dozer came to a complete stop, floating in midair as if a divine hand had simply caught it. Soul-self energy began to wrap itself around the yellow vehicle, as Raven prepared to use it against The Boy of Steel.

Immediately, the teen's eyes lit up with the fires of his heat vision and let loose a twin volley of deadly red energy. The blast hit its mark, connecting with the gas tank of the bulldozer.

Another deafening explosion rocked the site. The force of the boom sent the dark girl flying into the air as her dark powers crumbled, unable to contain the blast.

She landed in the dirt several yards away, her once immaculate pale legs scuffed and bleeding from the deceptively sharp sand below her.

Raven somehow managed to pick herself up, her eyes going in and out of focus with each labored breath.

The blue flames of Nightstar's spinning staff fell into Raven's vision from the left, and the girl quick stepped back to dodge the hot weapon. The Titan bent back just in time to dodge a horizontal sweep of the bo, the flames licking at the still sore claw marks on her stomach.

A yelp of pain rang out, Raven raising a black hand to protect her weak midsection. The masked teen swatted her shaky hand to the side, singing a thin arm in the process, and with a quick spin drove the flaming tip of her staff into the red-marked gut of Raven.

It took all of the normally calm Titan's training and will to keep from crying out in agony as she clutched her tender stomach. Her violet eyes were shut tight, and she hissed through clenched teeth at the piercing hot pain that shot through her.

The strike did bring her numbing senses back to a state of alertness however, the survival aspect of her human and demon selves kicking in.

The hum of Sentinel's wrist-blades and the near silent footfalls of his boots hit her ears long before he came from the right. She was ready for him.

She blocked the high strike he was about to bring down on her head with a burst of soul-self, and deftly twirled out of the way when he thrust his second blade towards her chest, coming to rest behind him.

He bent low, cocked a knee towards his chest, and fired a blisteringly quick back kick. Raven backed off, just out of range of his metal boot. The tall boy raised himself, swinging his leg up and forward to break into a high back flip. The vaulting somersault sent him over Raven's head, and into a low crouch behind her.

The dark girl did not anticipate this and it cost her as Sentinel swept low with a long leg, knocking the girl off of her feet. In a burst of speed that seemed to defy physics, the silver-eyed teen shot up on two feet and sent out a wide swinging kick to Raven's stomach before she hit the ground, flinging her into an incomplete wall. The cement wall caved in as she slammed into the still brittle structure.

Raven found herself knee deep in a pile of rubble and chalky dust. The smoky thick air scratched her lungs, sending the Titan into a coughing fit.

Blood leaked through thin fingers as she coughed into a small hand.

As the fit subsided, the girl saw her bloody palm, mouth suspended in a look of horror.

A mighty unseen force shoved Raven out of her trance, and off the ground. Below, she saw Geoforce, with an outstretched hand bathed in yellow. His gloved fingers jerked to the right, sending Raven into one of the many beams that reinforced the incomplete building. She did however, manage to steer herself so that the beam only struck her on the left side.

_PANG! KER-CRACK!_

Raven could feel her ribs give beneath the impact, and her arm went completely numb as she tumbled to the ground once more. She wheezed, her breathing coming in short gasps, her throat constricting to force more air into her injured lungs. More blood leaked out from the sides of her lips, each cough feeling like shards of glass in her windpipe.

Survival...The word kept on ringing out in Raven's mind, trying to bring her back to the task at hand.

She flexed the fingers of her left arm, noting that they could still move and that her arm had not been dislocated...yet.

A black platform boot swept up in the dark girl's vision, and caught her in the chin, flinging her into the air and onto her stomach. Menagerie's green fingers pulsed with black energy, forming deadly claws, and the girl charged with both claws poised.

Raven rolled onto her back and kicked out with both feet, catching the elfish girl in the chest. Menagerie jerked back in shock from the double-kick, brushing dust off of the purple front of her dress.

A dark throaty laugh brought her attention to a still prone Raven.

**"If you mean to kill me...Than you had better finish me now, Insect. This game is over!"**, the dark voice of Trigon replaced the monotone of Raven's voice, echoing in the construction site.

The five future Titans all shared a look of intense fear, the creeping dread of a nightmare realized.

"Oh crap...", Superboy whispered.

Nightstar charged a starbolt with her freehand, "Menagerie! Quickly!"

The green-skinned girl leaped forward again, more resolute than ever as she forced more soul energy into her claws.

She gasped in fright as they were caught with an equally vicious looking pair of bird-like talons.

**"...My turn!"**, Raven snarled, and with a bottomless surge of strength, threw the petite girl straight up into the air, and into a steel support. She let out a howl of pain as her back slammed into the metal beam and snapped with a loud crack.

"HRAAAHHH!", Sentinel's battle cry was like a lion's roar, a flurry of blue arcs coming down on the demonic Titan. His onslaught was filled with burning rage as his blades clashed with black shields.

He jammed the heel of his boot down hard, a small blade exposing itself at the toe of his shoe, and swung high with with a toe kick aimed at Raven's temple. A black shield held the kick back and shattered the blade, but not before the dreadlocked hero leaped into the air and planted a front kick straight in her face. It did little however, and Sentinel had to quickly back flip to avoid a pair of black claws bearing down on him.

He nimbly landed in a crouch, and charged again.

A thrust straight for her throat was met by a dark bird claw. The metal of the wristblade shattered under the immense power of the talon, and the blue glove went dark, popping and fizzling under the sorceress' grip. The dreadlocked Titan wasn't giving up without a fight however, arching his back to the rear and kicking upwards, catching Raven in the chin with his heel.

The girl wavered for a moment, releasing his left hand, which gave him the precious seconds he needed to drop to his knees and reach for his boot. A compartment opened up with a hiss and extended a metal cylinder to his damaged glove.

Sentinel tapped the switch on the metal hilt with his thumb, a short blade of blue light jutting out from the laser sword. No hum signaled this weapon's coming as he came back at Raven with everything he had, twisting the sword so that the tip came at Raven in a figure-eight motion, keeping her talons at bay.

A quick spin backwards was all that kept Raven's head on her shoulders as her opponent came even harder than before, as she quickly flight-hopped back to escape his sword. Even as she came to a stop, her cloak fell from her shoulders, cut to ribbons by the laser sword.

A deafening roar of energy erupted above her, as Geoforce and Superboy fired upon her with their searing energy blasts. Yellow and red mingled, and the girl could feel the waves of heat long before they actually struck. Acting fast she raised her palms skyward, creating a black shield.

It was enough to protect her from the two beams, but Raven's legs buckled as she dropped to one knee. She could feel her burst of strength leaving, and her thoughts came more clearly. The demon inside was slowly but surely leaving her consciousness, retreating back into the recesses of her mind. Her eyes shifted back and forth from red to indigo as her normal self fought for control.

The shield wavered a little as the real Raven regained control of herself, but it held firm against the energy barreling down on her.

The two teens above relented in their aerial assault and circled above, swerving inbetween the metal beams, waiting for a chance to strike. Raven wondered why they didn't just jump on her like they had been, and suddenly realized she had forgotten about one of them...

Nightstar's staff reminded Raven of her presence, smacking the sorceress across the face with Tamaranean flame. A burning red mark was left on her pale cheek as she was struck again in her already burned stomach with another thrust from girl's bo. A final swing from the flaming staff collided with Raven's face, sending her to the ground, silent and unmoving.

The two boys above landed beside her, while Sentinel began to circle around to Raven's rear, just in case.

Geoforce looked down at her, trembling a little, "Is she...?"

Nightstar held her staff firmly in a ready stance, "We can't risk the chance that she isn't."

Sentinel nodded in between panting breaths, his adrenaline still pumping from earlier, "She can heal herself if she's unconscious. We'll have to destroy her completely."

Superboy hissed through clenched teeth, "Leave that to me."

He closed in, making sure he was close enough so that his beams would finish her quickly.

"She's gonna pay for what she did to Tracy...It's time she went back to the hell she came from.", he muttered as he popped his neck, blue eyes already going crimson for another blast of heat vision.

Nightstar's eyes widened as they glanced upward, "Wait!"

The Boy of Steel turned his head in confusion, "What?"

He felt a broad shadow land in front of him, and the hot angry breath of a certain green Titan.

Superboy turned his head as slowly as he possibly could, not really wanting to see what was in front of him. His expression was blank as he was face to chest with a seven foot tall green monster that didn't look to pleased with him. It's wolf-ish features were set in a grim mask of razor teeth and blank rage-filled eyes.

"You've gotta be-!", his words were cut short with a loud choking gasp as a massive green hand wrapped around his throat, and lifted him off of the ground. A moment later he became an airborne punching bag as he was lightly tossed into the air, and promptly beaten senseless under a torrent of green fists. A final mighty punch sent Superboy into a skid, leaving a deep trench of earth behind him as he fell unconscious.

Sentinel aimed his still active glove at the back of the Beast's hulking form. His glove was about to fire off a massive sonic blast, but the glow of his remaining glove dimmed out, along with his blade.

"No..."

His suit was out of power, and that left him defenseless against the barrage of starbolts that rained down on him from above. The dark-skinned boy dove for dear life, breaking into a roll to dodge the hot green bolts that erupted in the ground around him. He quickly reversed his roll and somersaulted back to avoid a blue beam of sonic energy that came out of nowhere.

He used every muscle in his body to contort and dodge the blasts as they came, but a large green bolt slammed directly into his chest and left him reeling on the ground, smoke rising from his metal chestplate.

Before Geoforce and Nightstar could react to the scene before them, a small gray ball fell at their feet, exploding in a puff of white-gray smoke. Neither of them could see through the misty shroud, coughing at the thick smoke reached their lungs.

_BAM! BIFF!_

They did however, feel the impact of two metal boots striking them in the chest. They both were sent flying from the cloud of smoke and onto the ground.

Nightstar regained her senses just in time to notice the yellow tip of Robin's bird-blade barely an inch away from her throat, along with another blade aimed at Geoforce, who was still dazed. The Boy Wonder looked positively thrashed; pieces of his uniform had been torn, his face was bruised, and there were numerous burn marks on him.

The look on his face however, was a different story...He had a frighteningly calm look on his face, as if he wouldn't have minded gutting the two of them right then and there.

Neither Nightstar, nor Geoforce rose to retaliate.

Superboy was a different story however, rising to his feet with a groan.

A well placed sonic blast to the head put him unceremoniously back in his place. Cyborg would have given a resounding, "Booyah!" but his human features were twisted in a disgusted frown. He was not in a good mood. His meticulously clean armor was melted all over, and he was leaking a reddish-brown fluid in several areas on his body.

Starfire gently hovered to the ground, two green-lit hands aimed at Sentinel who had managed to sit up. He didn't question the Tamaranean's desire to blast him again as he rubbed the hole in his chestplate. Her long red hair was frayed and singed in certain places and her back felt like it was on fire from the huge burn that Geoforce's beam had given her.

Beast Boy transformed from his feral beast and back into his elf form, rushing to Raven's side. The blood around his nose had dried, and it was apparent that he had lost a fang in his fight. His black and purple uniform was ruined, marked with the cuts of Sentinel's blades. He gently cradled her head and lifted her up into a sitting position.

"Raven, can you hear me?"

She didn't respond.

"Rae?"

His green eyes went wide in disbelief, tears forming in them as he shook his head.

"No...No no no...Your not dead...Come on. Raven!"

The hot tears flowed, stinging his cheeks.

"You can't be gone..."

"Didn't say I was..."

She groaned beneath him, her bloodstained lips managing a monotone whisper.

The Titans all breathed a sigh of relief.

Beast Boy rubbed his wet eyes with a free hand and slowly helped Raven up into a sitting position. Her eyes were still a little glazed over but she was a least alive and conscious.

Silence had fallen on the construction site once more and the tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. The five Titans all turned their attention to the defeated.

Robin finally spoke, the tone in his voice threatening and altogether venomous, "Talk."

Nightstar held her breath, swallowing hard in defiance.

The point of the blade came just a little closer to her slender neck.

"If she isn't stopped she'll unleash pure hell on this planet."

The blade back off just a tiny bit, but not by much, "Your about nine months too late. Try again..."

"This has nothing to do with Trigon."

Robin's mask widened and he eased back, allowing enough room for Nightstar to stand.

"How do you know about that? Nobody-."

Nightstar cut him off with a hand and reached for her belt, "History is one of the first courses a Titan must pass before being inducted.", she said, pulling out a round object.

In her hands was yellow and black communicator, emblazoned with a white "T".

Cyborg blinked, "Robin...Exactly how many of those things did you give away?"

Robin shook his head, "Apparently too many..."

Starfire pointed an accusing finger at Nightstar, "Impostors! You did not help us defeat the Brotherhood of Evil, nor have we ever seen you before! You cannot be one of our friends!"

The masked girl sighed, "Your right, we're not. We are from the future...Sent back in time to save it from her.", her unseen gaze fell on Raven.

Soon, all eyes were on the violet haired girl. She had no answer, her mouth wavering open and closed as she struggled to reply. A look of shock and disbelief on her face was plain as day.

"The prophecy was fulfilled. The Earth is supposed to be safe from him, safe from me."

"Even if something bad is going to happen, you don't have the right to do this!", Beast Boy yelled.

"It wasn't up to--"

"M'ari! She's lost too much blood!", he shouted.

Sentinel had managed to get to his feet, albeit with some difficulty. He shuffled over to a still unconscious Menagerie amidst the conversation, and was kneeling before her. He had two fingers at her neck and his silver-eyes were wide with alarm.

Nightstar rushed over to her two teammates, practically stumbling to her knees, "Status?"

"Her pulse is too rapid, she's pale, and going cold...She'll go into hypovolemic shock if this keeps up!", he placed his hands near her bleeding shoulder and applied pressure, "There's no telling what the blow to her back did either...I can't treat her here."

_**EEEEOOOOOO! EEEEEEOOOO!**_

The loud sirens of the police rang out in the distance.

Robin's mask narrowed, "She'll get treatment after the police get here."

Sentinel's eyes thinned, glaring right back at him, "She won't last that long!"

"Doesn't the Tower in this time have a hospital?", Geoforce meekly suggested.

The Boy Wonder's temper was coming to a boil, "You attacked us, and nearly tried to kill a Titan...One of my friends."

"But--!"

"One of my friends!", the shout was loud enough to drown out even the sirens.

Starfire's face held a frown of fear and sadness mingled.

Cyborg was shocked, but not surprised. He hadn't seen him like this since Slade, but the tin-man knew just how little it took to get Robin to go over the edge when he was like this, "Look man, I know your mad. We all are, but Titan's Tower is closer than the hospital."

"They started this. She'll get help when the police get here and that's final."

Sentinel seethed, clutching Menagerie's bloody shoulder, "She won't last that long."

"We can't trust you. Your out of your mind if you think we're letting you in the Tower."

"It was your fault to begin with! You sent us here! You told us to kill her!", Nightstar yelled back.

There was a long pause among the ten teenagers, as the siren's closed in.

The angel-like voice of Starfire arose, "Robin..."

It was all she needed to say. The Boy Wonder's head turned towards her, and the two held a long stare. Robin shook his head, his eyes closing beneath his mask as he tried to steady his breath. He couldn't believe himself, as his voice turned inward, _"Your not like this. Stop lashing out and help her...Your acting like...-"_

Robin shook his head once more, banishing the thought from his mind.

A sigh, "...Raven...Do you have enough strength to get us back?"

"I think so...", she managed to say, her throat dry and wheezing.

"Fine...But once she's stable, I want some answers."

"Agreed.", Nightstar replied.

Raven nodded, chanting to call forth her soul-self. Slowly, the ebony bird form of her dark powers arose from her small form, and swept over the nine remaining heroes, whisking them off to the Tower.

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

Titan's Tower

January 28, 2006

Medical Wing

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

A gentle rain had begun to patter against the Tower.

Raven's soul-self had managed to carry the nine back to the small island in Jump City Bay, but the energy fell as soon as they arrived, a few feet from the front door. The girl had collapsed from her exhaustion and wounds and had to be carried by Cyborg to the medical wing.

Inside the infirmary, Sentinel and Cyborg had been hard at work to resuscitate both Raven and Menagerie. The rest of the Titans were trying to make themselves comfortable in the waiting room outside.

None of them had said anything since they had arrived, and the most of them exchanged worried glances.

Geoforce squirmed uncomfortably in his seat, "Do you think they'll live?"

Robin shrugged his shoulders. He had cooled down since they had arrived, but the scowl on his face remained as he helped to bandage Starfire's burned hands, "Cyborg's always been good with injuries, and I'm sure your guy knows what he's doing."

He had at least given them the benefit of the doubt and decided not to grill them about their connections with Raven and the future. That could wait, and he felt they all needed a bit of a calm quiet after such a furiously vicious battle.

Beast Boy had been leaning against the wall, tapping his foot impatiently, "Yeah...'Just don't like standing around waiting like this..." He had done his own bandages, and his cuts were aching for a little of Raven's healing touch to ease their lingering stings.

The blond haired boy nodded sheepishly, neither of them could sit still for too long without going a little nuts.

Superboy groaned, holding an ice-pack to his forehead as he slouched in his seat, "Then sit. I have a big enough headache without you tapping your foot like that."

"And just who's fault is that?", Beast Boy remarked.

The Boy of Steel smirked, "Well I didn't beat MYSELF senseless..."

"I can dream..."

"And maybe you can e-!"

Nightstar interrupted, "Kon-el!"

"What?", Superboy eyed her incredulously.

"You know that thing you do...How you open your mouth, and it pisses people off?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't."

A few chuckles and a rather loud guffaw from Beast Boy echoed in the room. Superboy covered his head with his icepack, more out of embarrassment than anything else. Even Robin couldn't help but let a grin creep on his face. _"I like her..."_, he thought to himself. Despite his feelings about their failed attempt on Raven's life, he had to admit that they weren't killers. His fingers gently finished wrapping Starfire's slender fingers, noting that although Tamaraneans were strong warriors, they could still be just as vulnerable as any human.

A pair of green eyes lit with gratitude broke his train of thought. For once, he was a little disappointed that she couldn't give him one of her bone crushing hugs.

Only a little...

The door to the infirmary opened with a hiss, and Cyborg emerged, a grin on his face, "We're in the clear guys. Both of them are going to be fine."

The anxious aura of the room slowly drained away as the Titans relaxed.

Beast Boy's ears perked up, "Can we see them?"

The mechanical Titan nodded, "Yeah, go right on in. Just don't squeeze her head off.", the last part he added with a wink.

The elf stuck his tongue out at Cyborg as he rushed into the bright room.

Soon, all of the Titans had filed into the room. Beast Boy and Starfire were huddled beside Raven's bed. Robin chose to stand relatively in the center of the room, his arms crossed, while Cyborg waited in front of the door.

Sentinel had remained at Menagerie's side the whole time, observing her vital signs on the monitors. Nightstar was beside him, and was glancing back and forth between a sleeping elfin girl and a slightly traumatized sorceress.

Superboy found the nearest chair and sat, refusing to give his headache a chance to creep up on him again, while Geoforce remained near a glass window, smiling as he watched the falling rain.

Robin started, "Alright...Now that everyone is comfortable, mind telling us what is going on here?"

Nightstar nodded, and raised a gloved hand to her mask. Slowly she peeled it away, revealing a pair of blinking blue-green within blue-green eyes, "We are from the year 2030 A.D., sixteen years after a huge disaster called the Cataclysm. During this year, Raven was consumed by her darker self and nearly destroyed the entire planet. Many heroes died during her reign of terror; The Justice League, The Doom Patrol, The Outsiders, Several members of the Green Lantern Corps. and countless Titans...," she shuddered a little at those last words, but Sentinel's hand on her shoulder calmed her a little bit and she continued.

"They finally managed to corner her in a huge battle. She was eventually killed, but not before she released her demonic energy upon the globe. The casualties were enormous...Roughly a third of the planet's population died outright from the intense energy. Sixty percent of the drinking water was contaminated with some unknown element that made it highly toxic, and close to seventy-percent of Earth's wildlife and fauna were wiped out. Sixteen years later, most of Earth's surface was just ash dirt. The sky itself is always a dark gray, and spectral demons attack what few cities are left."

There was a stunned silence. It wasn't exactly an easy thing to take in, especially all at once.

"I think I'm going to be sick...", Raven said as she began to hyperventilate, holding her lips with a hand to keep from throwing up on her covers. Starfire gently rubbed her back, "Just breathe." Beast Boy rushed to grab a pan for her.

A few of the Titans turned their heads as she wretched into the bowl.

"At least she's taking it well...", Sentinel grimaced as he walked over to replace the pan with a fresh one along with a bottle of water to clear the sorceress' throat. She accepted both with a weak "Thank you." and promptly gulped down the water.

Robin ran a hand through his spiked hair, trying not to let the news get to him, "That still doesn't explain why you guys are here..."

Nightstar continued, "Yeah...When the Cataclysm ended you, Robin, were the last original Titan left alive. None of the others survived. You worked hard to help Earth recover from what could be considered Apocalypse, but it didn't help very much...The planet was slowly but surely dying. It was only after the capture of a supervillain called Warp that things changed. You recovered most of his technology and managed to create a time travel portal through much experimentation. Your plan was to send a strike team back into the past and stop Raven from destroying the planet at all costs."

"Unfortunately, before the plan could be initiated, the Watchtower that held the machine was attacked by an large force. There were hundreds, possibly even thousands of them. We were called in as backup, but by the time we arrived we were the only ones left...The very last. We had no choice but to use the portal and complete the mission."

She reached into her utility belt and pulled out a small cylinder that was about the size of battery, and handed it to Robin. He examined it carefully, before hitting one of the small buttons.

**"Titans...A terrible purpose lies before us. A mission of deep implications for each and every one of you. The Watchtower is under attack. The Justice League is powerless to stop this unknown enemy. cough The Tower will fall. I cannot ask you to throw away your lives to fight a losing battle. All I ask is that you do what is necessary for our future. Years ago, we were faced with a challenge. A choice. cough We had to choose between loyalty and duty, friendship or survival. We chose wrong...We failed...And it cost us everything... The future must be saved at all cost, and there is no other way to save it. You must succeed where we had failed. You must kill Raven... SLAM SLAM SLAM The coordinates are set, but you'll have to do this alone...I'm sorry."**

The message paused for a few moments.

**"I only hope they can forgive me."**

The recording ended and the small capsule fell from Robin's grip.

"That was me.", was all he could say. The voice was much like his, only older...Harder, with a hint of bitterness in each word.

Starfire hugged herself, her eyes tight shut.

Cyborg sucked in a sharp breath of air, before summing it up, "So Robin was desperate, and sent you guys in to finish the job."

Geoforce nodded against the window, "Yeah, except something went wrong."

He raised his human eyebrow, "What happened?"

Sentinel picked up the explanations from there, "We weren't supposed to go back this far in time. Our original destination was the year 2013. Apparently the attack on the Watchtower had shorted out many of the computer systems inside, and had to be rebooted manually...That's where we found Red Robin's body."

Raven blinked, "Red Robin?"

Sentinel nodded, "Yes. He changed his persona from Nightwing after Starfire was killed."

The Boy Wonder felt a lump growing in his throat, "How?", he shifted a little so that he didn't have to face those eyes again. If he had, he might have broken down right then. His stoic mask returned a moment later.

The dark-skinned Titan took a deep breath, "During the final battle. Raven killed her."

Beast Boy shook his head furiously, "No!"

All eyes fell on him. Sentinel sighed, "She killed many that day. I know it's hard to accept, but-".

"Raven wouldn't do that! She's proven herself more times than I can remember, she's done everything she can to help people, not destroy them! She wouldn't...she...", he could feel the strain as he struggled to find the right words, "Isn't there another way...?"

None of the future Titans could answer him.

"Isn't there?"

Superboy rose up, leaving the icepack in his seat as he approached the small Titan, "Don't get pissy at us just because SHE nearly wiped out the planet! We only did what we had to do, or did you NOT hear the message?"

Geoforce inched away from the window, "Kon-el..."

"No! This needs to be said, whether you all want to hear it or not.", he pointed a finger at Beast Boy, "We didn't choose this, we were chosen. As Titans it's our duty to do what we have to for the greater good. If that means we have to eliminate your little witch girlfriend, then we'll do just that!"

The half-Kryptonian felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned just in time to see the blur of a green glove collide with his face. The punch sent him flying into a table, spilling the many bottles and equipment onto the infirmary floor. He stumbled onto the linoleum floor, bewildered as he saw a certain Boy Wonder cracking his knuckles. It wasn't the blow itself, but just the shock of how fast Robin was.

"Don't you ever threaten my team in our Tower, you got that? I'm trying VERY hard to be civil and you've been crossed the line more than once. Don't cross it again."

Superboy said nothing, rubbing his aching chin. It was the first time any 'normal' human had ever completely decked him.

"I know your frustrated, and confused. So are we. But we won't get through this if we're at each others throats. We'll have to work together to solve this..."

The masked leader approached him, and extended a hand to help him up.

Kon-el gave him an uneasy look, but took Robin's hand and got to his feet, "Sorry about shootin' my mouth off."

"Sorry I didn't hit you sooner...", Robin smirked.

Superboy managed a weak smile, but was definitely not feeling too proud of himself at the moment as he made his way back to his seat. Unfortunately he had forgotten about the icepack.

_POP! Fsssssshhhhh..._

The bag had burst under his weight, and cold ice water leaked out onto the seat. He leaped out of it with a loud yelp, holding his wet rear.

A moment of silence, and the room erupted into much needed laughter.

Cyborg wiped a tear away, "Wooooo!...So how are we going to handle this?"

Nightstar shrugged her shoulders, "We can't exactly go home...Not unless you guys have a spare time machine lying around."

Robin shook his head, "Either way, it's going to be a tough decision...A decision that I don't think any of us are ready to make. It's late, we've all been through hell, and quite frankly I think it would be better for us to get some sleep and come back to this in the morning."

Sentinel raised an eyebrow, "You actually trust us in your Tower?"

"Heck no. You guys aren't killers. I can tell that much just from listening to your story. However, we still can't completely trust you all yet. We do have a hold for you all to sleep in while we make our decision."

Geoforce gave a huge smile, as if the weight of the world had been lifted off of his shoulders. "So...We don't have to kill Raven?"

"No. That would be bad. We've established that already."

"Awesome...", it was as if he had completely missed the fact that he would be spending the night in the Titan's prison.

Robin grinned, "Well that's one way of putting it. I'd say we've had enough excitement for one night; Cy and I will prepare a few things for you guys. Sentinel...You'll watch over Raven and Menagerie?"

Sentinel nodded, a little unnerved by Robin's uncanny memory, but at the same time he admired him for being able to take control of a situation. It was a familiar feeling.

"Good...Let's hurry then so we can all get to bed."

Everyone was in agreement.

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

Geoforce let out a content sigh as he entered the cell he was sharing with Superboy. He was currently rubbing his hair dry with a towel, dressed only in a pair of black basketball shorts.

The room itself was bare, a bunk bed and two desks. It was eerily similar to a college dorm room. Beast Boy locked the steel bars shut with a loud electronic click and gave them a brief, "G'night." before heading back up to the infirmary. Geoforce waved back and then turned his attention to Superboy.

"Shweet!...A real bath! Haven't had one of those in a long time."

Superboy was laying on the very top of the bunk bead, deep in thought. He still hadn't changed out of his dirty battle-worn uniform.

"Hey Supes, you've barely said a word since Rob decked you. It couldn't have hurt that much."

Kon-el stayed silent.

"Was it the whole icepack thing?"

He turned his back to him, trying to get comfortable on the stiff mattress.

"Come on Connel, It's not like anyone hates you for being such a...Well, okay, so maybe you can be a jerk sometimes, but I don't think anyone will hold it...Well, okay Raven might...And so would Beast Boy...And Robin did kinda hit-"

"I GET it Brion. I'm just tired."

"I guess so! Man, BB mopped the floor with you!"

"BB?"

"Yeah, Beast Boy. He's pretty cool."

"My head says otherwise..."

"That's only because it's attached to your mouth."

"Ha Ha.", Superboy said, before curling up against a pillow.

"...You don't have to be afraid of Robin."

"Who said I was?"

"Well, you haven't said much since he put us down here, and he did kinda hit you."

"You don't know what your talking about."

Geoforce smirked as he plopped down on his lower bunk, "All I'm saying is you don't have to be afraid of him. Or anyone else. You could even, God forbid, be nice for a change."

"Goodnight Brion..."

"Night...", The geomancer replied, flipping the switch behind the bunk bed that cut off the lights.

The room fell into darkness.

"Seriously though Supes, take a bath, you reek."

The Boy of Steel groaned.

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

"No, Starfire! That's okay, I don't need anymore covers!", Nightstar pleaded as another heavy pink blanket was stacked in her arms.

"Oh but I insist! Earth prisons can be very cold, and I would not want you to become ill!", Starfire gave a sweet smile as she handed the girl another stack. The perky Tamaranean had bounced right back from the depression discussion earlier and despite her hands being wrapped up she was eager to help.

"I'm used to Earth! I don't think I'll need any more!" the dark haired Titan begged, trying to hand some of the blankets back.

Starfire nodded, deflating a little from her brief joy-ridden scavenger hunt. She had almost practically emptied her room with everything that Nightstar would need, plus a quite a few things she wouldn't. This included a multitude of stuffed animals and clothes that the Tamaranean had purchased at the mall.

Nightstar sighed, "I'm sorry...I'm just not quite used to...Well...THIS!", she waved her arms around for emphasis.

"What do you mean?"

"We nearly killed your friend, and yet you guys are letting us STAY in your Tower. I mean, Menagerie is stable so why would you allow us to stay here? Don't you find it just a little odd?"

Starfire placed a hand on M'ari's shoulder, "Not at all."

"Why?"

"I do not know what kind of life you have had, but I do know that we do hold grudges. You all went down the path you thought was right. We cannot, and will not hate you for that. All we can do is help you to find a path that truly is the right one. Besides, you are Titans. Misguided Titans, but Titans nonetheless."

Nightstar didn't have time to agree, as she was suddenly held in the clutches of one of Star's infamous Tamaranean hugs. Despite the lack of oxygen, M'ari was compelled to hug back.

"Besides, Cyborg's security system is very efficient.", Starfire commented. "I know that you all will behave.", she added with a sweet smile.

Nighstar gave an uneasy nod, "Right..."

There was something about Starfire and veiled threats that makes a person want to hide in a closet.

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

Sentinel sighed as he was led through the halls of the Tower, on his way to his cell. Cyborg was close behind, eying him cautiously with his mismatched eyes. As the two came up on a fork in the hallway, the mechanical man grabbed the boy by the shoulder with his remaining arm, pointing him to the left.

"Want me to raise my hands in the air too?"

"Couldn't hurt."

The dreadlocked teen grumbled as he was lightly shoved in the right direction.

He stopped for a moment and turned to him, "You do know that without my power cell, I'm not a threat to you, right?"

Cyborg couldn't help but smirk. He knew that Robin was planning on keeping them around, but not until it was on his terms. It was "bird-boy's" way, so to speak. The time in the hold was more or less their initiation...Provided they didn't make another attempt on Raven. For now he would merely observe, and thus he didn't answer him.

And maybe he was still a little peeved about his car.

Sentinel sighed, starting up his march once again, "The silent treatment...Great."

"..."

An idea struck him and he spoke, "You always were stubborn...Dad."

The heavy plod of Cyborg's feet silenced, and he grabbed the teen's shoulder again, "What did you call me?", he asked with a flabbergasted expression. His mechanical sensors scanned the boy's face, marking his features down for reference as the electronic half of his brain tried to confirm the comment.

"...", Sentinel kept his smirking lips shut.

A few minutes went by before the tin-man realized that he wasn't getting an answer.

"Okay...You got me...Fair enough." Cyborg nodded, catching the gist of his little game.

"...", Sentinel eased himself out of the mechanical grip, and proceeded down the hallway. Cyborg followed, trying to suppress his eagerness for an answer.

"..."

"..."

"So...Is your mom a cutie?", Cyborg grinned.

Sentinel rolled his silver eyes.

"Don't you roll your eyes at me!"

The teen grumbled, wishing he hadn't opened his mouth.

"Keep it up and you won't get a bedtime story."

"...feh."

"Your glad I only have one arm, or you'd get such a spanking!"

He muttered under his breath, "...I'd like to see you try."

"What was that?"

"Nothing..."

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

The infirmary bed was not nearly as comfortable as her own and a tired Raven noted with a sigh, tossing under her covers as she tried to get some sleep.

"Anything else I can get you Rae?"

Keyword trying. Maybe it wasn't the covers.

She groaned, making a face at the well meaning Beast Boy, "I'm fine..."

"...Just fine? Don't need anything?"

"Did I stutter...?"

"I guess not..."

Silence fell on the room, and Raven sighed once more, trying to find a good spot in the mattress.

"How about some water or some warm milk? That'd help you fall asleep right?"

He was persistent, she'd give him that.

"I just had a ton of painkillers pumped into me...I'd sleep for a week if you'd let me."

"Pleeeeease?", he whined.

"If I say yes will you to shut up and let me sleep?"

"Sure Sure! I'll leave it by your nightstand!", Beast Boy was already rushing out of the dimly lit infirmary, heading straight for the kitchen.

The following silence was broken by a mumbling from Menagerie.

"...talks too much...noisy dummy..."

She was stirring in her sleep and occasionally she'd mumble something incoherent in a way that made her seem almost cute. Maybe it was the painkillers, but Raven's lips curled into a small smile.

Raven could agree with her.

"...don't be mean...I wanna play with your braids...let me play with your braids...heehee..."

Raven raised an eyebrow in amusement.

It was hard to believe that this was the same vicious demon that she had fought not hours earlier...The same possessed little girl that Raven had nearly killed when she allowed her own dark side to slip through and take over.

She had already suspected that the girl was hers...That this girl, was her daughter...She hadn't had time to dwell on that thought until now. It was the only explanation for her powers, the soul-self she wielded.

"_My daughter...My daughter..."_, a smile found its way to her lips once again.

A sudden realization hit her. The ears, the green skin, the tiny pair of fangs...

"...I'm gonna to kill him..."

The sound of steps caught Raven's attention. Beast Boy had returned with a glass of milk.

"Hey Rae, I got your--Gah!"

He was met with a flurry of pillows and whatever else was near the bed at the time.

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

Robin collapsed in a heap.

The moon had begun to shine through the clouds and cast a little light onto him as he rested atop his bed. He had currently dressed down to pair of sweatpants and his mask, mostly so he could treat his cuts and burns. His bare arms had many small bandages, and his stomach had been wrapped completely in white.

He had a lot of think about; the future Titans, Raven, the future of the Earth itself. Problems all weighing down on his shoulders. There was only one thing on his mind at the moment however.

"Starfire...", he whispered to the air.

The news of her death had placed a weight on his chest, a heavy pressure that weighed down on him and wouldn't let up. It didn't matter that she would meet her demise years later. It didn't matter that they would have many more years together, protecting the city outside his window.

He desperately wanted at that moment, to hold her and be close to her. Anything to be reminded that she was still alive, that she was only a few rooms away.

He almost got up to go see her.

Almost.

"Starfire...", her name became a mantra on his lips, as he slowly succumbed to sleep.


	5. Decisions

_The rocky ground of a desolate desert and the starry night sky were all that Robin could see. The wind whistled loudly in his ears and chilled him straight to the bone while the rough caress of sand bit at his skin._

_Even as he took step after labored step, the wind would not relent, and the mild gusts soon turned violent, as if to keep him from reaching his goal._

_He undid the clasps of his cape and wrapped the yellow and black fabric around his face to keep the stinging sands from cutting him any further. _

_A trail of quickly vanishing footprints were the only way to prove that he was making any progress, and eventually they led to a small circle of rock formations that pointed skyward. The closer Robin came to the formations, the easier it became to walk._

_Slowly, the wind died down, until all that remained was the Boy Wonder, surrounded by rock and a star filled sky._

_"I've been here before...," Robin muttered to himself as he unfurled his cape and set it about his shoulders once more. He hadn't dreamed of this place in a long time, but he would never forget it._

_"My, aren't we the detective," an ominous voice filled his ears. _

_The last time he had been to this dark corner of his mind had been over a year ago, when his obsession with Slade had nearly boiled over and consumed him. He had nearly betrayed his friends for the second time in his career as a crime fighter, despite wrestling with his inner-demon, the monster inside his head._

_"What do you want Slade," Robin shouted to the four corners of his subconsciousness._

_"It's your head, you tell me."_

_Robin's eyemask narrowed, he was in no mood for games._

_"Get out of my head..."_

_A shadow fell upon him from behind, massive enough to block out the light of the stars._

_"Make me!"_

_Robin turned and let loose a wide haymaker punch straight for his assailant, but his knuckles met only air. Whatever had made the shadow vanished, leaving only the sound of cacophonous laughter._

_"A true warrior learns from his mistakes Robin, yet you seem to keep on making the same ones...Such a pity."_

_"Say whatever you want, your not taking over again. I won't make the same mistakes."_

_"Ah, but you already have...Or should I say, **WILL**."_

_"Shut up."_

_Robin reached for his utility belt to draw a bo-staff, until he realized that it was gone. The Titan remained calm though, and tried to focus. This was only a dream, the sooner his brain caught on, the sooner he'd wake up from this nightmare._

_Another fit of laughter rang in his ears, "And unprepared as well. No wonder you couldn't save her."_

_"I said shut up!"_

_"Ah, temper temper, wouldn't want me to take over again, now would you?"_

_The wind picked up just a little bit against the surface of Robin's neck. The shadow had been all around him, encircling him, waiting for the right moment to strike. This time Robin would be ready for him._

_As a tendril of shadow whipped out of nowhere, the Boy Wonder crouched and arched an elbow to his rear, rising into the blow with all he had. The loud crack of elbow against jaw was about to be followed up with a kick, but as soon as Robin's eyes fell on his attacker, he stopped dead in his tracks._

_"...Raven?"_

_The dark sorceress grinned beneath her hood as she floated cautiously away from Robin, rubbing her bloody lip with pale fingers. She was different though, for her cloak seemed to melt into the darkness of the sky, instead of the iridescent sheen of her usual leotard. It was as if she had arisen straight from the shadows._

_"Took you long enough," the voice of the goth girl replied._

_"What are you doing in my head?"_

_"You make it sound like I don't belong here."_

_"You don't," Robin snorted, getting into a ready stance just in case._

_"Silly little boy, when will you realize that your still dreaming," the shadow smirked, pale tongue lapping up the last of the blood around soft lips. This time the voice was not hers, but masculine and deep, with an edge of venom and sharp wit, the voice of Slade._

_Before Robin could respond, fiery arms clamped down on his limbs, holding them fast. Four flaming demons had snuck up on him, and now held him in their burning hot grip._

_"Let me go!"_

_Raven, or something that appeared to be Raven began to inch closer to him, a vicious smile planted on her lips, "Your slipping, Dick. That's your problem. You can start strong, but you can never finish, at least not without help. What's going to happen when those who depend on you suddenly need YOUR help, hmm?"_

_Robin's protests went silent, his gaze unflinching as it fell on the sorceress._

_"We already know the answer to that don't we?"_

_Silence._

_"They're all going to die."_

_"I'm not going to let that happen," Robin finally managed to shout, even if his voice was shaky at best._

_"She's going to die."_

_"Over my dead body..."_

_The pale girl grinned, "I was hoping you'd say that."_

_With a snap of her fingers, the demons began to pull at the Boy Wonder with all their might. Deep inside Robin could feel his joints popping and his muscles beginning to tear, the sharp burning on his arms penetrating through his skin. They were going to rip him apart._

_Even as the pain became unbearable, Robin steeled himself by gritting his teeth and tensing his body, if only to hold out a little longer. The intense heat that burned at his skin only increased, as a maelstrom of flame descended upon him, the night sky becoming hot like the flames of hell._

_He couldn't hold out much longer against the fire, his skin bubbling beneath demonic fingers. His lips began to part in agony as he let out a scream of anguish._

_Slade's voice continued through Raven's lips, "You can't fight fate Robin. In the end I will destroy everything you hold dear. You can't stop this."_

_A loud battle cry mingled with a shriek of pain was Robin's reply as one of his badly burned arms broke free of the demon hold, strong fingers grabbing the front of Raven's cloak._

_"Watch me!"_

_With newfound strength, Robin managed to free his other arm, and even as the two remaining demons pulled at his legs he struck hard and fast. _

_A fist to the face left a large bruise on the girl's pale features._

_Another punch left her and her demonic allies reeling._

_A swift front kick to the gut brought Raven to her knees._

_Even as Robin continued to deliver blow after blow, Raven continued to laugh maniacally with Slade's voice. A roundhouse kick sent the cloaked girl flying onto rocky ground, the flames dissipating into thin air. Robin welcomed the cool air against his scarred flesh, but had no time to relish in it._

_"...Well now, it seems there's still some fight in you after all."_

_"Like I said before Slade, get out of my head...I'm not asking, I'm telling."_

_"...Like **I** said before Robin, **make me**," the figure of Raven rose and charged at full speed._

_Robin reached for his utility belt, which had somehow found its way back around his waist, and drew two bird-a-rangs, locking them together to unsheathe his long sword. _

_"I was hoping you'd say that."_

_In one swift motion, Robin twirled the yellow gleaming blade, and drove it into the belly of Raven, practically lifting her off of the ground with the strong thrust. Blood leaked out from her wound and down the blade of his weapon, dripping on the pale dark and purple ground below._

_"R-Robin...," a trembling voice whispered at him._

_The Boy Wonder shook his head in disbelief as he looked under the hood of the cloak, "Starfire?"_

_"W-why?"_

_Robin swallowed the lump in his throat, as he struggled to catch his quickening breath, "I didn't mean-Raven-she...Slade. It was Slade he-"_

_Shining read locks fell out from beneath the hood as the Tamaranean fell into his arms, blood pouring from her lips. Green on green eyes glistened with tears as they stared into his mask, tilted in a deep sadness, as if her heart had been broken in two. Orange fingers tried to pull the blade out, but only succeeded in grabbing the weapon beneath quivering fingers._

_"No...Starfire, don't try to move it...I'll get help," Robin tried to say, but his words were choked and constricted as he fought to hold back tears._

_The alien girl beneath him didn't reply, his eyes still gazing up into his._

_"Starfire...No, don't do this..."_

_There was no life left in her, the usual warmth of her skin replaced with ice. All around him, the flames that had died down ignited once more, slowly closing in on him. The unique smell of burning flesh filled Robin's nostrils, as he fell against the one he loved, as if to shield her lifeless form from the consuming fire._

_"STARFIRE!"_

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

Robin's body jerked up from his bed as he screamed her name, his voice ringing against the walls.

It was a nightmare.

His voice had fallen back to silence, as cold sweat tingled against his bare skin. He ran a hand through his dark hair, the spikes falling over his mask.

"A dream..."

He repeated the words, as if trying to convince himself that was all it was. Deep inside he had known that it was just a nightmare, but alongside those feelings came the same ones he had felt the night before.

Robin shook his head vigorously to drive those thoughts out of his mind. He had never been one for deep introspection.

He glanced over at the alarm clock on his nightstand, which read Four A.M.

His muscles ached, crying out for action instead of sleep. Whenever the Boy Wonder's mind was troubled, the only way to deal with it was by exerting himself. There had been many a night that he had worked himself to complete exhaustion, both when he was in Wayne Manor and Titan's Tower.

Robin dressed as carefully as he could, avoiding the bandages that held him together. He wouldn't push himself too hard tonight, but he had to do something. He had to expell all the negative energy in him, and the only way to do that, was to train.

It was one of the few things that could keep his inner-demons at bay.

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

"Couldn't huff sleep huff either?", Cyborg smirked as he lifted a barbell of massive weights up to his chest, curling them up and down with an accompanying grunt. He was sporting a shiny new chest plate, although some portions of his body were still scratched from the day before.

"I don't think anyone has...", Robin remarked.

Beads of sweat trickled down the brown skinned portion of the Titan's face as he planted the equipment down at his feet, "Really?"

"Well, we did nearly get our butts handed to us," the masked boy said as he found a red punching bag in the middle of the massive training room. He threw a few punches at it, but he didn't put too much strength behind his strikes just yet.

"You surprised? They ARE Titans...," Cyborg chuckled.

Robin didn't let Cy see the slight smile of pride as he began to pick up the tempo of his punches, adding a kick here and there, "I suppose..."

"But the bigger question is, who's Titans are they?"

Robin's eyemask arched at the riddle, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, think about it. Seems like they were under your command...Or at least had been at one point. Some of them even look like us. Doesn't that mean a few might be related too?"

The Boy Wonder nodded, "Of course it does. The green skinned one, Menagerie, is a dead giveaway."

"Think BB knows?"

"How could he not figure it out?"

"I mean how the mother is Raven..."

"..."

"They came back here to kill her...And she probably did more against us than any of them. Sure as heck threw me around."

Robin hurled a back fist at the punching back, jerking it hard to the right, letting the bag swing free for a while, "I know...It isn't exactly a comforting thought. What about their leader?"

"The Tamaranean looking one?...Yeah, yeah. Definitely yours."

"Vic...don't even start...," he shot back, not liking where this was going.

"Rob...She's almost a spitting image of you!...Except for the height thing. She's got her mother's legs," Cyborg remarked thoughtfully.

Robin blinked, "And just how would you know about that?"

"...No comment." The tin-man laughed.

Robin burst out into laughter, "Just don't hit on her while she's here! God only knows what kind of time paradox that would make."

The room erupted into even more laughter.

"I really couldn't risk it, seeing as how the one with the braids is mine."

"Bee?"

"Nah, just good friends."

"Sarah?"

"Let's not go down that road right now."

"Jinx?"

"Kid Flash, remember?"

A pause.

"...Your a pimp Cy."

"And don't you forget it," Cyborg laughed.

"Sure," Robin said, rolling his eyes, "Now, the other two are a mystery to me. Geoforce and Superboy. I got no idea where they came from."

The black boy shrugged as he picked up his barbell for another set of repetitions, "Maybe they're straight from the future."

"Possibly...Something about Geoforce caught my eye though..."

"What?"

"Doesn't he remind you of someone?"

The mechanical Titan closed his eyes, lifting the weights to help focus his thoughts. When the realization hit him, he dropped the weights with a loud **_CLANG_**.

"You don't think...?"

"I do. Terra."

"How can you be so sure?"

"The yellow aura, the hair, the eyes...There is definitely something going on."

The two remained silent for several minutes at the prospect. Robin broke it by walking over to his friend and second in command, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Whatever happens, we don't tell Beast Boy. If what he told us is true, about the Slade drone and Terra, than this is the last thing he needs on his plate right now."

"We're his friends...We shouldn't hide something like this from him."

"We won't, at least not forever. He'll have to come to terms with it gradually."

"I guess...," a sigh from Cyborg, and he began his set once again, lifting a little quicker now.

"Superboy?"

"Superdick more like it..."

"...Okay, that was blunt."

"So's he...Fair trade."

"Honesty is a good quality...Even in a jerk. Guys like him can be useful."

"As a punching bag."

Robin snickered at the thought.

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

"So...The Boy of Steel, eh?"

"Aren't you supposed to be on guard duty?"

Beast Boy didn't feel like telling him that he had been chased out of the infirmary by an angry Raven. He was still confused as to why she had done so. He hadn't done anything to her...lately. Could it have been something he said?

The elf sighed and rested against the wall of the hallway, gazing into the cell that held Superboy and Geoforce, "I felt like talking to someone. 'Sides, I can make sure you guys don't do anything dumb 'till we've decided what to do with you."

Superboy rolled his eyes as he raised himself up into another sit-up. After about an hour of trying to sleep, he settled for working out. At least it killed time.

Geoforce rolled over on his bottom bunk, "It's still four o'clock...," he grumbled, slamming the pillow over his head. The clock on the wall had told him the time, almost as if mocking his feeble attempts at getting some shut eye.

Superboy suddenly snapped up to a sitting position, "Hey...waitaminute...what time does the sun rise?"

Beast Boy scratched his short spiked hair, "I think...Around 5 or 6, why?"

"I've never actually seen one before."

The green Titan gasped, "You've never seen a sunrise?"

"Nah..."

"Really? What about you?"

Georforce propped himself up on an elbow, "When I was little yeah...But that was a long time ago."

"Little? Dude, you can't be much younger than me."

The geomancer seemed to shrug his shoulders, "It's...Complicated."

Beast Boy didn't press the issue any further, even he knew when to let things go. He couldn't help shaking the feeling that he had met the blond-haired kid before. There was a sense of familiarity, of closeness that he couldn't place.

Superboy on the other hand, he couldn't figure out at all. The night before, he seemed like the rudest guy on the planet, but now, it was as if he was almost...Normal.

Well, as normal as a teenaged superhero gets. Sunrises...Who saw that coming?

The dark-haired teen grinned, a slight gleam in his blue eyes. Beast Boy could only wonder at the muscled Titan of the future, maybe there was a nice guy underneath the big jerk.

"Maybe if your good, Robin'll let you guys out ear-", Beast Boy was cut off, by a bright red flash that erupted in the cell. A well placed blast of heat vision on the ceiling...More specifically the small nodes of the Tower's sprinkler system.

Alarms blared all over the Tower as the sprinklers went to work, spraying foam everywhere. The hallways, bedrooms, and most of the facilities in the tower became saturated with extinguishing foam.

The green Titan was in complete shock. His mouth would have hit the floor if it could for he couldn't believe Superboy did what he just did. On second thought, yes he could.

Beast Boy should have remembered.

He sucked at guard duty.

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

"He did it!", Beast Boy accused, pointing at a certain muscle-bound teenager.

Seven Titans had made their way to the roof, the dark sky beginning to shift into a shade of light blue. The sun was coming up early this morning, as if to welcome and calm the small group of teens...Six of them most definitely needed it.

Sentinel rubbed the space between his eyes with shackled hands, his face a mix of suppressed frustration and confusion, "What the hell did you do this time?"

Superboy merely grinned triumphantly.

Six pairs of eyes glared at him.

"...What?"

Six heavy sighs followed.

The foam spread through the Tower as quickly as a fire would, and thus most of the Titans had to evacuate to the roof. It would take about a half-hour for the foam inside of the Tower to dissipate. They couldn't afford to have sensitive equipment become damaged from water, so they chose a system that could put out a fire and dry in a short amount of time.

It had saved the Tower on more than one occasion. This was not one of those occasions. Many of the Titans were still in their pajamas and night clothes, and none too happy about it.

The only room that didn't have a foam system was the infirmary, which instead sealed itself off from the rest of the building. Cyborg had quickly rushed to the medical wing to check on Raven and Menagerie.

Nightstar felt like beating Superboy senseless, "What possessed you to ignite the sprinkler system?"

Superboy's eyes widened as he gazed onto the horizon. He pointed with both hands held in cuffs, "That..."

Beyond, the white light of the sun began to rise above the skyline. Gradually, the warm sun came into view, casting an all encompassing brightness over Jump City and the orange gleam reflected in the cool blue waters of the bay.

"I had forgotten what a sunrise looked like," she whispered. Geoforce and Sentinel nodded in solemn silence, Superboy's rash actions completely forgotten.

Well, not completely.

A bandage-wrapped hand on Kon-el's shoulder brought him out of his trance, "It is beautiful is it not?"

Superboy turned to see Starfire standing beside him, smiling at the sight of the sun.

"Totally..."

"On my home planet, we have a word for things such as this. The dur'han."

"Goodie...More funny alien talk. What's it mean?"

Starfire turned to the Boy of Steel. He was a little surprised to find that she was almost as tall as he was. He wasn't used to that.

"It is more of an expression. The gist of it is that things like this should never be taken for granted, for they are so hard to come by."

Kon-el blinked and shook his head, "No...I mean, I'm not trying to insult you or anything...CauseI'dgethitagain. What I mean is that. Well, ah...I was never good with words."

Robin answered for him, "There are plenty of sunrises, but only one sunrise we can all see it together like this."

Superboy nodded, "I guess..."

The Boy Wonder nodded, the slight curve of a smirk on his lips, "Good answer..."

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

"I wanna see! I wanna see!", a squirming Menagerie whined as she tried to get up out of her hospital bed. She was currently lying on her back, her head facing away from the window, and the bright sun outside. Cyborg had strapped her down to keep her from moving as he ran a small metal device over her lower back.

A large bruise was apparent on her green skin, but his device told him that the spine was intact, with little damage.

"In a minute! Can't let you get up until I'm sure it's safe," Cyborg pleaded as he placed the small machine on a rack, scanning the room for another instrument.

The young girl stuck her tongue out at him, or at least, in his general direction.

Raven found the whole scene to be rather amusing, although childish.

Apparently, Menagerie didn't like medical facilities too much. Once the anesthesia had worn off she had sprung to life like a monkey on pixie sticks, and the sirens that suddenly went off did not help. Luckily, Cyborg had came in just in the nick of time to calm her down.

"Raven, your healing powers are really amazing, there's practically no damage...," The tin-man commented. Raven immediately picked up on the hidden meaning behind it.

"Don't even start..."

"You know, Robin said the same thing. I'll never get what it is about you lone wolf types, always wanting to deny that you feel for someone, even though EVERYONE can see it."

"Cyborg?"

"Mmmh?"

"It's Beast Boy."

"Yes, it most certainly is! What's wrong with Beast Boy?"

"It's Beast Boy."

"Hey, he's not so bad! Makes me wonder why you two hook up in the future to begin with though."

Raven rolled her eyes.

"It's the ears isn't it?"

The dark girl didn't respond. Cyborg turned and walked over to her, ready to remove the many bandages she had.

"Hey, are you blushing?"

Raven turned her head.

"Ooohh! I knew it! It's always the ears!" he squealed.

"Nah-unh!" Menagerie shouted, "It's because he's funny."

Raven balked at the thought, "Beast Boy is most definitely not funny."

"But you always laugh when he's around."

Cyborg raised an eyebrow as he slowly peeled the bandage covering Raven's side, "No, little one, this is Raven we're talking about. She doesn't do-"

A glare from the goth Titan silenced him.

"No...On the inside," Menagerie said, her voice low, coming from a depth of understanding that neither Cyborg nor Raven could comprehend.

Raven thought for a moment, and tried to come up with something. Anything. A scathing remark, a witty comeback, or just something to dismiss the revelation.

Nothing.

It was a rare moment for Raven, she was at a loss for words.

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

Once the Tower had dried, the Titans made their way down to the commons room. Robin decided to hold off on breakfast for the moment, partly because he wanted all of the Titans present...Partly because he was craving Cy's famous waffles.

He'd never admit it though.

It didn't take long for Cyborg to enter, Menagerie walking beside him, albeit a little shaky in the legs. Her platform shoes didn't help.

Raven had resorted to floating, her legs still aching from the night before.

Superboy and Sentinel were already at their comrade's side, easing her onto a comfortable swiveling chair that allowed her to recline and rest. Her back was healing, but she wasn't going to be fighting anytime soon.

Raven found a seat at the kitchen section of the commons, preferring to keep her distance from the future Titans. Even though she had spent the night sleeping next to one, none could blame her.

A long silence fell. If a flea had broke wind, it would have been heard. All of the events of yesterday; the ambush, the ensuing fight, the race to save the life of Raven, and the capture of the Titans of the future. It had all come to this crucial moment.

"So, you guys ever hear the one about the Premiere of China and the Jar of Mayonnaise?"

Raven's head fell to the kitchen table, "Oh God..."

Beast Boy never was good with timing.

"Or was it a duck?"

Robin cleared his throat, rather inconspicuously. Beast Boy got the hint and kept the duck jokes to himself.

The masked boy stood up and glanced around the room. Four familiar faces, five strange ones.

"I think a few introductions would be good at this point."

Nightstar nodded, and stood to her feet. Her blue eyes fell on Robin, then briefly over to Starfire. She still couldn't look her in the face. "I guess I should go first. My name is Nightstar. I am the leader of the Teen Titans, Alpha squad. Neo Jump City Branch."

Robin raised a brow, "Alpha Squad?"

"In the future, the Titans have set up different squads, consisting of five members. We are alpha because we are one of the first...And one of the best."

The masked leader nodded as he took in her words, "I have no doubt you are. What's your real name?"

"...M'ari...M'ari Grayson. Red Robin was my father." She anticipated what he was really wanting to know. Even though he suspected it, it still was a shock.

Not quite as shocking as Starfire though, who had immediately risen from her seat and presented poor M'ari with a dreaded hug of doom.

"I cannot believe it! My little bumgorf! Oh it is so good to see you! There is so much we have to discuss! Why do you not share such jubilation?"

"AIR," Nightstar managed to squeak out.

An apologetic Starfire let her go, but her emerald eyes were lit with joy. It was all she could do to keep from bouncing up and down where she stood.

"I am just so, how do you say, Giddy?"

Robin smiled, "Good choice of words Star. There is much we have to catch up on. For now though, let's continue."

The two girls sat down, leaving the floor open.

The blond-haired Geoforce raised a hand meekly, "Brion Markov...My hero name is Geoforce. Nice to meet you all."

Starfire, still bouncy from meeting her daughter, greeted him, "We are glad to meet you young Geoforce."

The skinny boy turned a deep shade of red.

"Your cheeks are red, is it the blush?"

Brion curled up in his seat, a little too embarrassed to look at the beautiful Tamaranean, "NO! I mean...No Miss Starfire."

"coughFanboy!cough," Superboy smirked.

Geoforce's blush had spread to his ears, but he felt that he had put his foot in his mouth enough for one day and stayed silent.

Sentinel ruffled the young boy's hair with a dark hand, "Don't mind Brion, he's just a little shy around his idol."

Cyborg scratched the human side of his head, "Idol?"

"Yes, most of the superheroes of old have become legends. It's like meeting Gandhi or Roosevelt in your terms."

The cybernetic teen nodded, "Or Mr. T?"

Sentinel blinked, "Sure, why not."

Raven seemed to perk up at the remark, "And you are?"

"My name is Sentinel...Real name, Xander Stone."

"Xander? Unsual name."

"My mother named me."

Cyborg leaned over to Beast Boy, "She's totally cute by the way."

"Duuuude, who is she?"

A vein bulged in Sentinel's forehead in annoyance, but he decided to indulge them, just this once, "If you must know, her name is Sarah...Sarah Simms."

Beast Boy grinned, "I knew you and Sarah would hook up, I'm always saying you two were made for each other...Who's Sarah?"

Cyborg laughed, "She's an old friend of mine. She works at the Disabled Children's Center downtown. We met after I start mentoring the kids there."

Starfire's eyes lit up, "You have a significant other Cyborg? Why did you not tell us! What does she look like?"

"Oh she's gorgeous...Blond hair, blue eyes...Silm, kinda like Star, but petite...Kinda like Rae. Nice legs that won't quit and a butt that-"

Two things suddenly hit him; one, he was drooling, two, everyone was watching him drooling.

"Yeah, Soshe'scuteandallthat...Continue!"

Superboy stood up, flexing an arm as he announced himself, "I am none other than the Boy of Steel himself, Superboy. Real name's Kon-el. Conner, or Connell works too."

No one said anything to him.

"Hey, come on...The entrance doesn't work unless you all go "oooo" and "ah".

"Ooooo...Aaaah. Will you shut up now," Raven said, deadpan.

Geoforce winced, "Burn..."

"Wha? I haven't done anything ba-...Oh wait, yeah I did...Well I haven't said anyth-...Wait...Crap."

Raven sighed, "Just quite while your ahead."

"Is it too late for an apology?"

Robin gave him a small salute, "Never too late to say your sorry. Go for it."

"Yeah...well...I'm sorry I tried to kill you and stuff. I suppose we all are. Really. I mean it," it was a sincere gesture, even if it was Superboy. His eyes softened as he lowered his head, as did the rest of his companions.

Raven looked at him, emotionless. Robin jerked his heads towards the group of future Titans, hinting that she should say something.

"Fine...Apology accepted. Now sit down."

Superboy complied, discovering that he was still on thin ice with the group. At least no one has hitting him.

Robin gave Superboy a small thumbs up, as if trying to reassure him that he'd eventually fit in.

"That only leaves...Her."

"WEEEE," Menagerie was currently spinning around in the swivel chair, oblivious to everyone around her.

Robin blinked,"...The best, huh?"

Nightstar sweatdropped, "She has her moments."

A sharp whistle from Beast Boy brought her back, "Hey kiddo, your up!"

She stopped her chair, "Oh! I'm on! Okay...My name is Menagerie. I was named Tracy Roth Logan, sounds like a rock star doesn't it?"

Beast Boy was in tears from laughing so hard, "It does doesn't it! I'm so naming my kid like a rock star."

Everyone stared at him incredulously.

"...What?"

Raven's eyes were the size of sun, "You haven't figured it out?"

"Figured what out?"

"...Azar above...He truly is an idiot."

"Hey, I'm not stupid...What's everyone looking at me like that for?"

Cyborg patted him on the shoulder, "She's your daughter BB."

"How do you know?"

Robin sighed, "The green skin, the pointy ears...How could you not see it?"

He glanced at Menagerie, then at himself. The elf stood from his seat and walked over to a window to view his reflection. After what seemed like minutes of contemplation he turned to her suddenly.

"HOW LONG HAVE I BEEN GREEN?"

Cyborg sweatdropped, "Is he being sarcastic or just stupid?"

"AND WHY AM I COVERED IN BEADS!"

Raven rubbed her temples, "I don't know anymore..."

"Okay, okay, so if I'm her dad, who's her mom?"

Nightstar sighed, "Raven."

"Really?"

Robin nodded. Beast Boy turned to Raven, who buried her head beneath her hood with pale hands.

Silence.

"REALLY!"

Everyone in the room nodded, even Menagerie. At this point everyone was flabbergasted but understanding. He was probably joking...probably.

Robin sat down in his chair, running a hand through his black hair, "Well now that we have at least introduced ourselves, it's time for us to come to a decision."

Nightstar nodded in his direction, "Agreed. We have to come up with a solution to our problem. Apocalypse will come. Maybe not now, but in a few years, it most certainly will arrive. The only way we deemed fit to stop it was by eliminating Raven. Now, I'm not sure that was the best option."

Cyborg raised a hand, "I'm thinking that maybe we could...I dunno, just fix what happened to Raven."

Raven shook her head, "It isn't that simple. I've had plenty of opportunities to betray my friends. Why then?"

Sentinel blinked his silver eyes and stood up, "None of us from the future know the specific events surrounding the transformation. Apparently, Raven fled, and returned several months later as her darker self."

The dark girl walked over to the window, gazing out onto the bay and skyline solemnly, "So I knew..."

Beast Boy went to comfort her, but couldn't bring himself to do anything. The situation was already awkward enough, "Raven..."

"I knew it was going to happen, so I tried to run away...To keep myself from hurting you all."

It was quiet, as the Titans struggled to find a way to bring some hope into the room.

Geoforce was the one that stood with a stomp of his foot, "Then don't run away."

Everyone watched him intently.

"Instead of running, let us help you. Why don't we help protect you from whatever it is that caused this thing to explode inside of you."

"Brion...I appreciate you trying to help me. Really, but this is something I have to face on my own."

"Says who? You've all fought for Raven in the past right?"

Cyborg nodded, "And we'd do it again."

Starfire perked up, "In the beat of a heart!"

The blond kid walked over to Raven and placed a hand on her back, leading her to the rest of the group, "Come on then. Let us help you."

For the first time that day, Raven smiled, "Third time's a charm I suppose..."

Beast Boy gave Geoforce a soft punch in the shoulder, "Good thinkin'..."

Geoforce placed a hand behind his head, grinning from ear to ear, "Don't embarrass me."

Superboy smirked, unable to resist himself, "Yeah, that's Starfire's job."

The blond boy turned beet red once more, his eyes bulging. Any larger and they would have fallen out.

Suddenly, the Boy of Steel's chair was yanked out from under him, wrapped in mysterious black energy. Kon-el fell straight to the floor, landing on his butt.

"Brain fart...", was Raven's only reply.

The room burst into laughter.

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

Across the bay, far atop a building, a figure stood. The same figure had watched the fight between the two groups of Titans the night before, and had watched Raven flee for her life. It had tracked her shadow straight to Titans Tower.

In his hands was a small set of binoculars.

He was menacingly tall, close to to seven feet in height. His suit was red and blue, lined with ammunition and weapons. Knives, grenades, and pistols lined his uniform, and a long deadly sword rested on his back. All over his suit, the emblem of a narrow skull was seen.

He was built like a juggernaut, a body that seemed invincible. On his hard face was a red mask that went up to the bridge of his nose, leaving his evil dark eyes revealed.

They burned with a fire that could frighten the devil himself.

"Perfect."

The figure slide the binoculars into a pocket on his utility belt, turning to face the city.

"Soon I will have my revenge...I am so close."

He began to laugh, maniacally, a sharp laugh that had a gravel edge to it.

"Soon, Slade Wilson...Your head will be mine."

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T


	6. The Ravager, Part 1

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

Titans Tower

February 6, 2006

6:09 am (Daybreak)

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

"_Reach the end of the obstacle course_," Robin had told them. That's the catch with training simulations...They are never as easy as they sound.

Doubly so when coming out of the Boy Wonder's mouth.

Nightstar's legs pumped with all of their might as she ran down the dirt path of the course, a pair of green-blue starbolts in her hands. With a battle cry, the half-Tamaranean hurled them at two robotic drones that were blocking her path.

The drones fizzled and popped as the explosive energy caused their heads to burst like watermelons under a mallet. She kept up her determined stride, gliding past them with relative ease, while her fury fueled another set of bolts in her gloved fingers.

Another drone erupted from the rocky earth not a few yards in front of her, this one slightly larger than the others, with a pair of lasers on it's shoulders and emotionless yellow eyes trained on the female Titan.

_Whurr Whurr Whurr...Ker-thunk!_

A disc of neon blue whizzed past, just inches from Nightstar's left as Sentinel's laser blade drove itself into the chestplate of the drone. Blurring past her like a gazelle, the dreadlocked teen charged at the robot, retrieving his laser blade and crouching into a spin.

He gracefully dodged a hefty swing from the drone and came up behind it, slicing up what would have been the robot's spine. His blade of light left a trail of red hot metal as he cleaved the robot up the middle, before drawing his blade back and slicing off the drone's head to finish it off.

The dark-skinned Titan gave Nightstar the slightest of nods, before breaking into a sprint down the path.

Nightstar rushed to catch up with him, and the two were eventually running side-by-side, like a pair of cheetah running across the Savannah. The road in front of them virtually erupted in laser fire as a barrage of red beams whizzed past like an angry swarm.

As soon as they spotted a cropping of large boulders they took refuge behind them, the red energy slowly chipping away at the rock. It would at least give them time to form a plan.

Apparently a certain tin-man had thought of this and planned ahead, a disc launcher popping up right in front of them, as if to punish them for stopping in the middle of the course. It unleashed several exploding discs, not unlike that of the Boy Wonder's.

Before either of them had time to prepare a counter-attack, beams of red heat sliced through the discs, detonating them before they hit their mark. Sentinel closed his eyes and Nightstar raised an arm to shield her eyes as the discs exploded in a cloud of fire and smoke, before dissipating quickly in the air.

Superboy took his time and crouched as he blasted the disc launcher with his heat vision, melting the thing into a twisted hunk of metal debris. He quickly dove into a roll to escape the laser blasters' line of fire and eased beside Nightstar, leaning out a little to get a view of the course before them.

Several yards in the distance was a line of disc launchers poking out of the rocky earth. Beyond that a steep hill and just on the line of the horizon were more boulders that no doubt held surprises. The rest of the training course was a mystery at this point. The team hadn't been allowed to see the finish line.

"Old-school! Intense stuff," he flashed her a wild grin.

She rolled her eyes at the Boy of Steel and readied a starbolt while her eyes scanned the course for her two other teammates.

Geoforce and Menagerie were running up from behind to meet them, practically sprinting to escape the laser bolts creating small eruptions of dirt and smoke at their feet. As they neared their friends several more armored drones appeared from underground, leveling their wrist lasers at the two teens.

With a cry from the small teen, Geoforce's eyes shifted from their normally pale blue to bright yellow. He swept a gloved hand out before him, sending out a burst of gravity force that lifted the robots off of their feet and into the bay of Jump City with a loud series of splashes.

He finished off another drone with a blast of thermal heat from his palm, blowing a hole right through the drone as it collapsed in a heap before him.

Menagerie dropped her stance in mid-sprint and leaped high in the air, pouncing on the largest robot. Her slender green arms wreathed themselves in dark energy as they came down on the helpless drone, clawing at its chest like one would break open a crab.

Within seconds the once hulking automaton was silent, circuit boards and computer parts ripped out and spread everywhere. In a burst of speed she hopped once more and came down on the last two with her soul claws, slicing them to ribbons.

Nightstar raised seemingly delicate fingers to her lips and blew a sharp whistle. In moments the team of future Titans were huddled behind a boulder, the turrets almost giving them a slight break as they had stopped firing for the moment.

Geoforce coughed, not used to running around all over the place, "Whoa...This...is...a...whole lot harder...than I thought," he managed to wheeze.

Menagerie peered out at the disc launchers beyond, "Are they trying to kill us or something?"

There was a long silence.

"I'm just sayin'...," she simpered.

Robin had told them to treat this simulation as the "real thing", even though their only goal was for one of them to make it to the finish line.

It was hard to do that with the restrictions he placed on each Titan. Superboy and Geoforce were not allowed to fly for this simulation, Menagerie wasn't allowed to shift into her beast form (although that might have been for safety precautions as well), Sentinel was left with only a single laser blade, and the half-Tamaranean had all of her bat-gear taken.

Sentinel tapped his right temple, "We should be coming up with a plan instead of complaining. I have no doubt there are plenty more surprises on top of that hill."

Nightstar nodded in agreement, "Right. We'll be sitting ducks..."

Superboy glared at the hill. The sun was still creeping up over the boulders, leaving a line of bright sun over the horizon.

"I say we gun it. Go for broke."

Geoforce sighed, his breath returning to normal, "He's right. Only one of us has to make it."

The leader shook her head, "I'd like for us all to get there. This isn't a suicide mission, just a training sim."

"But then what does it matter? As long as one of us makes it, we'll pass, right," Menagerie sheepishly pointed out.

Nightstar couldn't argue with their logic, looking out into the distance, "It could work...But-!"

Sentinel pointed up to the top of the hill, "Above!" he shouted as another set of disc launchers revealed themselves and proceeded to open fire on the five. The boulder was slowly being whittled away from the explosive discs, and at that point the Titans knew they were out of time.

"Titans, Go!" Nightstar commanded and broke into a run, rushing towards the hill with all the force her legs could muster.

Every instinct was telling her this plan wouldn't work, but there was no other option. The goal was clear, all they had to do was make it to the finish line. She hurled a pair of starbolts at a disc launcher, clearing the way for her friends to charge.

Her teammates followed behind her; Sentinel leaning forward with his sprint to give himself more speed to catch up to Nightstar, while Superboy used his heat-vision to give his partners some cover. Menagerie and Geoforce had to practically crawl as they scrambled up the steep slope.

Just as the two younger members neared the middle of the slope, a thin mechanical crevice opened up a few feet above them, leaking a slick brown substance. An automated mudslide, a new addition of Cyborg's.

Geoforce managed to skitter over to the side, but Menagerie was not so lucky, the wet stuff causing her to lose her footing and fall over into a tumble. The blond teen dove as quickly as he could for her, grabbing a green hand so that she could steady herself.

"Thanks...," she said weakly.

"We ain't out of the woods yet," he proclaimed, and pulled her forward.

"I'll scout ahead. Back me up," Sentinel said as lowered himself further with his body only a few feet from the ground. His speed practically doubled, giving him the momentum to spring into an aerial corkscrew and land just over the top of the hill.

He had barely a second to examine the scene before him, but his electronic eyes saw everything. A flat stretch of land before them that was split halfway by another section of boulders. Farther ahead was their goal, a large gate with a timer counting up.

The finish line.

But he was nowhere near it, and all of a sudden a laser blaster popped out from a trapdoor, with six long barrels. It began to rotate like a machine gun and assailed him with long bursts of red energy.

The dark-skinned boy thumbed the trigger on the hilt of his sword and the blue blade extended to the length of a long sword, while he spun swinging his blade in time with the streaks of red.

_PING PANG PONG!_

Blue mingled with Red as he deflected each blast, sending the deadly bolts right back to their source. He coolly approached the chain-gun weapon, spinning his blade with a controlled ferocity. In mere seconds the gun was peppered with holes from its own beams, and the device fell off its mount with a loud explosion.

Sentinel smirked and turned back to his friends who were just making their way to the top of the hill.

"I got the chain-gun. All clear."

_Wurrrrh-click! _

Another pair of mounted weapons decided to make their appearance, one humming with a white pulse, the other a blue pulse.

He turned back a little too late, the white bolt hitting him square in his chestplate, undulating waves of light running across the ground. His blue blade went out like a candle being snuffed. The second blue blast struck his stomach, rocketing him high into the air and rolling back down the bottom of the hill.

"Xander," Menagerie cried, her face filled with worry for her friend.

"He'll be fine! Come on, let's keep moving!", Nightstar ordered while hurling starbolts at the two emplacements. The green skinned elf reluctantly nodded and pressed on with the rest of the team.

Geoforce and Superboy were already a third of the way down the clear path, making steady progress as they paired up and used their heat powers to destroy another set of disc launchers on top of the boulders up ahead.

_WRRRRRRRRRRR..._

A strange sound, like a car riding on steel wheels was heard in the distance. Three rolling spheres made there way in between the boulders, heading straight for the two teenagers.

Geoforce raised his gloved hands towards the center ball, his eyes glowing yellow as he unleashed a blast of thermal energy. Superboy squinted to release his heat vision, but a sharp stinging sensation filled his oculars and his beams just barely hit other two orbs.

The yellow and red blasts seemed to roll right off the rolling drones' smooth surfaces as they continued on their warpath.

The Boy of Steel placed a hand over his blue eyes, gritting his teeth, "My vision is screwin' up man! You'll have to provide cover until I can see straight!" His blond friend patted him on the shoulder to let him know he had his back.

One of the orbs began to peel open like an orange, revealing a virtually hollow center. Geoforce saw his chance and charged forward, raising both palms to fire a large wave of yellow heat at the sphere.

Unfortunately, like the first time the blast had little to no effect on the thing.

It all seemed like slow motion as the orb wrapped itself around the boy, closing with a loud _CLANK_ and trapping him inside of it like a bubble. His muffled cries could still be heard outside the metal shell.

"Brion!" Superboy rushed over to the orb to pry his friend free, but an orb with his name on it blocked his path, heading straight for him.

The red and blue clad teen wasn't about to be beaten that easily, and rushed forward just as the sphere began to "flower" its way open. He grabbed the right side of it firmly in his hands and brought it down on a boulder, crushing the thing to pieces. Even this creation was no match for Kryptonian strength.

The last orb met a similar fate, crushed in the large boy's hands like a soda can. As soon as the imminent threat was gone he rushed back to the lone orb in the middle of the path. He searched the surface of the orb in an attempt to find some way of freeing Geoforce, for he couldn't risk crushing the orb and hurting his friend.

Nightstar and Menagerie stopped nearby. "Kon-el come on!" urged Menagerie.

"Not without Brion!" the alien said, frantically trying to open the sphere.

"We can't help him like this. More drones could come any second. If we finish the course he'll be released. The sooner we win, the sooner he's free," Nightstar reasoned.

Seconds and a deep sigh passed before the dark haired teen nodded, leaving his friend behind.

The three managed to make it past another line of disc launchers without too much trouble; Superboy opening up a path in the middle by smashing a launcher with his fists, although he had to take a few discs to the chest in order to do so. His muscles ached with the promise of pain the next morning and his newly cleaned uniform was burned black and shredded once more.

Just as they reached the rocky outcropping, large metal plates like walls shot up from the ground between sets of rocks, leaving only one opening to get through them. A maze...

"Wonderful...," Superboy muttered, not too pleased at the thought of having to go through a maze. Heck, the ones in the magazines routinely gave the boy a headache.

Nightstar slapped him upside his head, "Shut up and run!" The Boy of Steel was about to protest, until he heard it. The loud rumble, almost like a stampede. Behind them a wave of robots were closing in, readying their lasers.

Menagerie and Superboy ran into the maze as quickly as they could, right on the heels of their leader.

A turn to the left, a turn to the right, and a fork in the road. Nightstar didn't have time to think and just followed her instincts, heading for the right with her two comrades in tow. They ran through the maze for what seemed like an eternity.

Menagerie shrank at the thought of them being trapped in the maze, her breath quickening in a slight panic, "We gotta get out of here..."

M'ari looked around, trying to figure out where they had made a wrong turn. They couldn't retrace their steps, or they may come face first into a fury of lasers. An idea suddenly came to her.

"Superboy, can you make a shortcut?" she asked.

A quizzical look crossed his face, before he slapped himself on the forehead, "D'uh!" he exclaimed.

_SMASH SMASH SMASH SMASH!_

The two girls were right behind the juggernaut that was Superboy as he plowed through the metal doors. They escaped the maze within moments and made a mad dash for the finish line. The teens were so close they could almost taste it, picking up their pace.

And that's when all hell broke loose.

The ground quaked and rumbled, the earth breaking in front of them to reveal an immense robot that was at least two stories tall and similar to the other drones, but with one difference. It's hands were huge and made for smashing. A notion that was not lost on the three Titans.

It raised one of its massive hands and unleashed a huge blast of sonic energy at Menagerie, flinging her back and into a metal wall. The petite girl fell to the brown earth and slipped into unconsciousness.

Superboy peered up at the large drone, "Oh sh--!"

He didn't have time to finish, as the robot brought a massive fist down on him. It took all of his strength just to keep from buckling under the weight of the blow as he held the fist firmly over him, muscles straining. Nightstar launched a flurry of starbolts, leaving small holes in the mechanical monster's side, but doing little damage.

"Go!"

Nightstar's gaze whipped back to Superboy. He was already knee deep in the dirt, sweat pouring from his skin, "Just go! Reach the finish line!" he screamed.

The girl turned and ran, the gate only twenty yards away. On both sides of the path lines of chain-gun lasers made their presence known, unleashing an onslaught of lasers in front of the half-Tamaranean. She ran through the gauntlet anyway, lasers grazing her uniform.

She broke into a roll to get under the barrage and crawled beneath the blasts until she cleared the line, crouching into another sprint. The lasers turned to follow her path and the heat from their beams could be felt on her back as she cried out in pain. She was lucky they didn't penetrate her uniform.

Nightstar dived with all the power her legs had, mere feet from the gate and slammed onto the ground, her fingers slipping past the finish line. A loud buzzer signaled the end of the simulation as the master drone slumped and the lasers stopped firing. The whole course seemed to go dead.

The girl gave a much needed sigh of relief, wiping her brow of sweat, panting heavily. A much bruised and battered Superboy came up beside her, "Way to go...Now if only I had the strength to beat that bird brain senseless we could call it a victory."

Sentinel was trudging up to meet them, a dizzy Menagerie in his arms. Geoforce was close behind, muttering something about how he was going to kill Cyborg for such a cheap trap.

Nightstar smiled at her team, "At least we succeeded."

"Wrong...You failed."

They all shared looks of disbelief and shock as they turned to Robin, who was now making his way towards them.

Sentinel blinked, "Wait a minute. You said only one of us had to reach the finish line. Nightstar made it, so how did we lose?"

Robin shook his head, "I also told you to treat this sim as the real thing. In the field you never, NEVER, leave a teammate behind unless you have no choice."

Superboy shot the Boy Wonder a hard look, "Well in case you didn't notice, this course was friggin' death trap! We would have been killed if she didn't finish."

"Just like when you fight any villain. Difference is that when you fight a villain, you plan ahead. Formulate and stick to a plan. You guys recklessly charged forward with the foolish hope that you would beat the simulation."

"It was HIS idea...," Geoforce muttered while pointing at Superboy.

"Regardless...Geoforce, why weren't you providing fire support? Those heat waves are perfect for picking off turrets, yet you attacked mostly drones and thus caused Superboy to use up the one long range power that he has," Robin turned to the geomancer, mask bearing down on him.

The blond teen stuttered and realized silence was his best and only answer.

"Menagerie...You should have been up front with the others, attacking most of the drones with your soul-self. I know you can't manipulate it like Raven, but you can utilize it in beast forms. An octopus arm could have swept aside most of the drones quickly and efficiently," Robin noted.

She didn't respond, her ears dropping at the criticism.

"Sentinel...Your the most agile member of the team, you should have been right beside her. Your lightsaber gives you an advantage the others don't have."

"I'm not that much of an asset without the rest of my equipment..."

"Deal with it. You have enough skill with that thing to be on the front line. You proved it when you took out that chain gun, but your used to blasting with your cannons or using other weapons. You don't focus because your so used to finishing your enemies quickly and leave yourself wide open."

The dreadlocked teen nodded with a sigh.

"Superboy."

"Oh here it comes...," the tall boy rolled his eyes.

"Besides your attitude, your too reckless. Are you invincible to laser fire, or not?"

"Well...I mean...I can handle it pretty well."

"Then why weren't you at the very head of the column. If you can take the punishment, why let Nightstar and Sentinel be up front?"

"Well, she's the leader and all that...shouldn't she be up front?" he questioned.

"Not when it puts the team at a strategic disadvantage. Your the tank of the group, and should be up front, plowing through any obstacles. Anything that gets past you should be softened up enough for your team to take down. If all of you had made it to the end that juggernaut drone wouldn't have been a problem."

Slowly the team began to realize how badly they had approached that training simulation. Their triumphant high had been replaced with a very crashing low.

"The goal of this was to teach you all that teamwork is nothing without strategy and focus. If you all were to fight a villain the same way, you might win, but lose the whole team. If being a Titan has taught me anything, it's that there is always a new threat just around the corner. With no team, who will take on the next supervillain or mad scientist with delusions of grandeur?"

The rest of the Titans nodded in understanding.

"Keep a steady pace, take control of the situation, and keep your team alive to fight another day if you have to. Sometimes it's okay to flee if you can't press forward," Robin said, finishing his lecture.

"Dismissed."

The Titans began to head for the foot of the Tower, when Nightstar stopped, "Wait...what about me?"

Robin didn't look at her, "What about you?"

"Well I was expecting some speech about how badly I planned ahead and led the team through the course..."

"How can you be bad at something your not doing?" he remarked, walking away.

The anger was visible on her face, but she said nothing, clenching her fists to tightly her knuckles were audibly cracking.

Robin didn't even look back, heading back up to the course control center.

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

"Could you have been just a little harder on them?" Raven asked Robin as he took a seat by the control panel of the obstacle course.

"I have to be...They haven't had much training."

"Your kidding right? They nearly mopped the floor with us. Those guys know what there doing and you bringing them down could hurt more than help," The dark girl admitted.

Robin shook his head, rubbing the edge of his mask, "No...They haven't been training with US. If they hope to be of any use than they have to start thinking like us. Adapt to our way of fighting and dealing with situations. If they don't, they'll be a bunch just like those robots Cyborg built. Dangerous but predictable."

The goth girl couldn't deny the truth in that, "So your saying that you want them to...blend with us?"

"Exactly, if they can learn to work with us, then we won't have any problems with what lies ahead. This armageddon...This cataclysm they talk about. It will take more than five extra Titans to deal with it."

"You mean Slade..."

The Boy Wonder raised an eyebrow at her, "What?"

"When we first began to deal with Slade, you did the same thing you lectured them about. Focusing only on the goal and not what kind of toll it would take on your team. It nearly destroyed us all."

"Right. I'd much rather we all survive what's coming, instead of getting killed trying to stop it."

Raven pondered his words for a moment, "You were still being a jerk."

Robin smirked, "It's a gift."

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

Common Room

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

"Can you believe that guy? What a waste of time!" Superboy growled as he pulled a Gatorade out of the fridge, "I mean, how big is Robin's ego to run us through that kind of a mindjob?"

Sentinel smirked, "As big as yours?"

"Ha Ha...," Superboy sarcastically replied, "What about you? Don't you think it was screwed up the way he did that to us?"

"It was a test. Flunking doesn't make you a flunky," he ran a hand through his dreads. "We did the best we could." he added before chugging down more water from a gallon jug.

Geoforce nodded, "Yep...we got schooled. Let's just hope we don't face any villains with obstacle courses."

Superboy chuckled, "Nah, they all died out in the 80's...It's all about robotic goons nowadays."

"Ah, the slow and the dimwitted..."

"Amen."

They nodded at each other with wide grins.

Menagerie was curled up in a chair, sheepishly raising a hand, "Well it's not like we lost right?"

Sentinel rolled his eyes, "Forget about it...We'll do better next time. Let it roll off your back."

The girl nodded, although a look of disappointment was still apparent on her face. Nightstar patted her on the shoulder, "Look on the bright side...worst case scenario, we could have all been killed."

Superboy nearly spit out his Gatorade, a few drops dribbling down his chin. Geoforce cracked up.

Swish!

Cyborg and Beast Boy entered the common room with amused looks on their faces. The tin-man was the first to speak, "Wassup? I take you all finally ran the Terminator simulation?"

"Terminator...Sounds like you dad..."

"I'm a James Cameron fanboy, what can I say?" Cyborg laughed, "Did you all get the lecture about how you all failed?"

The Titans all blinked at the metal-man.

Beast Boy rolled his eyes, "Yeah, we got that lecture too. And I'm pretty sure Robin gave himself a good talking to in the bathroom, although I was half-asleep at the time."

Geoforce smiled, "Now I don't feel quite so bad about failing..."

Cyborg shook his head, "Oh, you never pass. The whole point of the test is to become better than you were before. If there was a limit, you'd stop trying to improve yourself."

"Why in the hell couldn't Robin have said it like that!" Superboy fumed.

"Because he's a jerk..."

"Oh yeah..."

"You two will get along great."

"Bite me."

Sentinel finished his jug of water and glanced at Cyborg and Beast Boy, noting the slight smudges of oil here and there, "Still working on the T-car?"

Beast Boy gasped, "Amazing! With your skills Batman will be out of a job!"

"Did you just use sarcasm?"

The elf grinned and waggled his eyebrows. Cyborg slapped his best friend on the shoulder, "At this rate, Raven'll be drooling over him."

Superboy gave an impish grin, "Oh! I'd PAY to see that."

"No way," Beast Boy said as he plopped down on the couch, turning on the Gamestation console, "I only take bets on Smash."

Geoforce's eyes lit up ",You don't mean."

The telltale theme of Super Smash Bros. Melee broke the conversation as the green elf brought up the character select screen.

"Any takers?"

"Oh it's on!" Cyborg shouted, landing on the couch beside him. Superboy and Geoforce took their controllers and joined in as they selected their characters.

LINK!

Beast Boy's favorite.

FACLO!

Geoforce snickered, "I love old-school games!"

CAPTAIN FALCON!

Superboy smirked, "Prepare to be owned..."

"Oh please, you pick the cheapest character in the whole game!" Cyborg remarked as he selected his character.

JIGGLYPUFF!

A pause.

All eyes fell on Cyborg.

"Don't hate on Jigglypuff!" he shot back.

Sentinel rolled his eyes, "As much as I'd enjoy playing a mindless game with you guys, I have some training to do."

Cyborg turned back to his future son, "What? Don't wanna play winner?" Xander shook his head, "No thanks. I need to let off some steam," he explained, heading through the double doors.

Nightstar sighed, "I wish he'd lighten up a little..."

"I take it he holds everything in and broods like a certain certain someone I know?" Beast Boy asked.

"We almost nicknamed him teapot..."

Cyborg laughed, until a delicately timed falcon punch knocked jigglypuff off screen, "Oh no you didn't!"

Superboy gave an evil chortle.

Menagerie hopped up from her chair and slowly made her way to the door, as if pondering whether or not to go through it. She rocked back and forth on her heels, a nervous look on her face.

"Why don't you just follow him?" Nightstar said with a knowing smirk on her lips.

Green cheeks suddenly turned red, "What do you mean? I have no idea what yo-!"

"Nevermind then...," the Girl Wonder gave up with a roll of the eyes and was about to head for the couch when an orange, purple, and red blur shot out of the door and crushed her in a tight hug.

"GOOD MORNING AND GLORIOUS DAY! I trust your training went well?" Starfire smiled in a way that only Starfire could.

Silence...

"Why do you not speak?" Nightstar wheezed, "Air!"

Starfire released her vice-grip on the dark-haired girl, smile still firmly plastered on her alien features, "I know your running of the course must have most laborious. Perhaps a calming trip to the Garden will ease your frayed nerves?"

Nightstar raised an eyebrow, "I'm really not that big on-"

"WONDERFUL! I will procure the over-of-alls!"

The room erupted in laughter.

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Garden

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There they were. Mother, daughter, and the splendor that was nature. Except for the smell of burning debris from the obstacle course, it wasn't that bad in the Titan's garden.

It wasn't that large really, just a small piece of land with an array of VERY exotic flowers. Most of them had been brought back by Starfire when she visited her home planet. Most of them were also quite different from Earth plants and much information was needed to take care of them.

And Nightstar was going to hear every word of it. In huge pink overalls no less.

"This unique flower, the g'lorbuss requires a gallon of what earthlings call "bleach" every week in order to remain healthy. It is used to such harsh substances on my homeworld and needs it to survive. Chlorine may also work if used in mass quantities," Starfire continued as she slowly poured a gallon of bargain bleach over the vibrant purple flower.

Nightstar looked like she was about to fall asleep, but tried to contribute to Starfire's attempt at "bonding".

"So...why does it look like it has a mouth?"

"Because it does silly!"

M'ari's eyes went wide and she almost jumped when she thought the plant had given her kissy-kissy lips.

"Okaaaay! Going upstairs. I draw the line at plants that make passes at me."

"Oh do not be a muf'kor. That is how to tell if they need more food. When they stop you know they have had their fill!" Starfire grinned, as if it all made perfect sense.

The half-Tamaranean groaned, "Look, I appreciate you trying to get close to me, I really do. But..."

Starfire blinked and stood, a look of concern on her face, "What do you mean."

"I'm not...Into the whole. Alien thing. Okay? I didn't grow up with it. You died when I was really young. I don't remember that much about you..."

"M'ari...I come to this garden every day, and work here for close to three earth hours a day. Do you know why I work so hard on this garden? It is because it reminds me of home. I have not been home for a long time, and even when I visited, it was only for a brief moment. It reminds me that I belong. Earth is home, but I will always be from Tamaran...Do you understand?"

"No...I don't."

Moments passed by.

"Why?"

"Because...I didn't grow up with this. I'm not like Kon-el. It's not something I really bothered to think about. Where I belong...Who I am. It's pointless. I'm a Titan, and that's all I really need to be."

Starfire shook her head, "But you are more than just a Titan. There is someone under that uniform."

"Yeah...a freak."

A look of shock crossed the Tamaranean girl's features, "What are you talking about? My daughter is not a freak!"

"I'm a half-breed."

"That may be true, but you were born out of love. It is foolish to hate yourself for that."

"I can't even use my powers completely because I'm not pure alien or human! Half the time I have to focus all my attention just to create one starbolt even though it's natural for my Tamaranean side. I get cravings for REALLY weird food that no one else would ever touch! I'm not nearly as strong as I should be! And I can't fly! If that isn't a freak then what is?"

Starfire's eyes widened.

"You...cannot...fly?" she almost whispered. It was known by most of the Titans that Tamaraneans could achieve flight by age two, sometimes earlier. It was a skill that came from the unbridled joy each of them felt upon experiencing life. For them it was as natural as breathing.

"See...That's why I don't like talking about it! I knew you would think I was a freak...," The truth was finally coming out. The tension the two had felt towards one another, the uneasiness was finally given a face. The girl was afraid of rejection. Nightstar closed her eyes and sucked in a sharp breath of air, trying to steady herself.

Starfire's emotions were like a whirlwind. She didn't know how to feel. There were many feelings; anger, frustration, worry, sadness. All of them mingled together, and despite her nature to see the good in any situation, her people were not kind towards those pf their own race who could not fly.

A fact that wasn't lost on M'ari.

"Dearest daughter...You are not a-"

"Don't lie to me!"

Silence fell in the garden.

"You'll push me away...Just like Dad...Just like him..."

"I did not mean to hurt you by bringing you to this place. I only wanted us to become closer."

Nightstar took a few steps away from her, stripping off the overalls that covered her uniform, "It's not your fault...I should have told you in the beginning."

There was a hint of bitterness in the girl's voice, "Let's just stick to being Titans."

Before Starfire could come up with anything to say to ease the weight of the situation, the intercom sounded.

"Nightstar, please report to the garage on the double. We have a situation and I want you to accompany me. Robin out."

The leader of the future Titans headed for the side door of the Tower without another word, hoping for a task that would get her mind off of the garden...and her mother.

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Jump City Needle Laboratories

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Nightstar regretted he decision about leaving her mother as soon as she came upon the horrible scene. She would much rather have faced the uncomfortable silence that examine the carnage that was before her.

The JC Laboratory Needle was similar in design to the Space Needle in Seattle, except that this particular building housed a weapons lab at its top floor.

A weapons lab that had been broken into.

The bodies of five scientists were laid out on the floor, and much of the equipment had been destroyed in what appeared to be a struggle. At least that's the way Sergeant Miller had put it.

To Rob and Nightstar, it looked more like a massacre. The clear glass walls were riddled with bullet holes, along with the bodies of the scientists themselves. The floor was covered with smeared blood. Some of them may have lived long enough to writhe in pain, before bleeding to death.

Robin summed it up, "This wasn't just the work of a professional Sergeant...It was a sadistic professional," he said, crouched close to one of the bodies.

"It was apparent he took pleasure in hurting the civilians working here. From the way they fell most of the appeared to be standing when they were killed. Yet he purposely aimed low...Hoping to hit organs instead of clean kills."

Miller whistled beneath his white mask, "Boy Wonder indeed. The attack occurred late last night. The night security didn't even know what happened until this morning when the shift changed. The security cameras and alarms were all shut off or disabled...If only we could figure out what in the hell he stole."

"The Thermal Blaster..."

"How do you-?"

"Long story, "Robin dismissed the topic, for he had been to this place before, and in fact stolen the same device...As Slade's apprentice.

Nightstar blinked, noticing something underneath one of the bodies. A mask of dark orange and black, split down the middle with a single eye hole and breathing slits.

"Robin...Take a look at this," she handed him the mask. He glared down at it long and hard, knowing who it belonged to. The Sergeant knew who it was as well. They both remembered those fateful days when Slade had controlled the city with the help of a former Titan.

"So Slade is behind this...," Robin seethed between his teeth. Not out of anger, but out of something else...A feeling of uncertainty in his words.

Something wasn't right.

Nightstar noticed the way he looked, for she had seen that look on his face years later, "You aren't so sure, are you?"

"Not quite...Slade never uses normal firearms. His hardware is laser or explosive based. It's been his calling card since we've known him. The caliber of rounds are 5.56x45mm...A machine gun...maybe an FN Minimi. Whoever did this was strong. The tight grouping of the entry wounds means he had a steady hold of the gun."

Nightstar looked on in slight admiration for Robin just then. She had never seen her father, the "detective" at work, "What does it mean?"

"I'm not sure...I have several hunches, but I need more concrete evidence," Robin sighed, examining the room for a third time, sifting through papers and fallen equipment for some kind of clue.

Miller pointed up to the ceiling, "Is that a clue?"

The two Titans looked up. Amidst the fluorescent lights was the clue they had been looking for. The lead they were looking for, right above their noses the whole time.

Words, written in the blood of the scientists...

"The Ravager...What does it mean?" Miller inquired.

Robin narrowed his eye mask, "Slade's found himself a new apprentice..."

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Titan's Tower

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The four Titans, Cyborg, Robin, Nightstar, and Sentinel gathered in the common room, all of the surrounding the console that linked them to the computer database and large television screen. They had shooed the other Titans out in the middle of their game, much to the chagrin of Cy who was apparently winning.

Until he heard the details of the massacre at the lab.

Cyborg's eyes went wide as he saw the crime scene pictures, "A new apprentice. So Slade's back in business?'

"Possibly," Robin stroked his chin not quite ready to give in to that assumption so quick, "We haven't had any activity from him in the last few months. Sentinel, your kind of a record keeper for past events. Any "old" news on Slade that could help us?"

Sentinel shook his head, "No...The last record we have of any activity from Slade was the incident with Trigon. And that's only eyewitness accounts from you guys. He vanished off the face of the Earth after that."

"Or he only appeared to. Cyborg, run a trace on the words, Ravager. See what it brings up."

The tin-man went to work on the keyboard, typing furiously through the Titan's database, "Nothing on it in our records."

"Branch out to include all US records. Someone has to know who this character is."

Cyborg's human eye twitched a few minutes and keystrokes later, "Wait a minute...I've got something," he motioned for everyone to look at the massive screen. All eyes turned to the image of a young man in a blue uniform and cowl, his orange utility belt lined with weapons.

"Who is that?" Nightstar asked.

"The Ravager...Goes by the name of Grant Wilson. Or at least, he did," Cyborg leaned back in his chair.

"What happened to him?"

"Dead...Killed by HIVE for refusing to carry out a contract on...Holy...I don't believe it."

"What?"

"He was hired to take a contract out on the Titans...Apparently he never went through with it, and was taken out for running off with their advance payment," Cyborg had to double check the information on the screen twice, just to make sure he was seeing what he was seeing.

Sentinel shook his head, "Whoa...I can imagine that, but if he's dead, who wrote that message in the tower?"

Robin's eyes narrowed as he typed in a few keystrokes, "I think I might have a clue."

The screen flashed several images, before pulling up a set of birth records, "Maybe he has family we can contact. Someone who can tell us what we want to-"

The Boy Wonder was shocked, for the first time in a long time. One the screen was an old looking document, scanned for computer records. Under the title of Father, was the piece that put it all together.

"Slade Wilson..."

The silence that filled the room was immediate and lasted for minutes.

"It all makes sense now...Slade, you son of a- This is why you were doing all this? To make up for your dead son? You wanted someone to follow in your footsteps that badly?"

"Slade...Who would have figured him for a "sentimental" mad terrorist?" Cyborg remarked, "But then who is his new apprentice?"

Robin was already typing information into the console, "I have a name now...I was looking for information on our database only...That's why I never found any information on Slade himself! I thought it was an alias, not his real name! How could I have been so stupid?"

Cyborg eased towards Robin, "Slow down man, one thing at a time. What's the database telling you?"

The Boy Wonder leaned in towards the screen, "Slade Wilson...Retired Army, Special Forces. Explains his skills with weapons and fighting. De-Classified information...Special Strike Team. The Deathstroke Unit. Vietnam, Korea, Afghanistan. Whoa. Slade was once...almost like G.I. Joe...A soldier in the US Army."

Sentinel blinked, "You learn something new everyday. What about the people he served with?"

"Most of them served at different times. The only consistent names are...Adeline Kane, Wade DeFarge, and William Randolf Wintergreen. Dead end...All have been pronounced dead in combat or after service," Robin slumped in the computer chair.

"So, back to square one." Cyborg asked, "Downside of research...Always going in a circle."

Robin raised an eyebrow, "What did you say?"

"Always going in a circle...You know, downside of investigating. Too much info."

Robin grinned, bringing up a map of the city with a keystroke. He examined the map thoroughly, typing in keys that places small red dots on the map. Namely two that were larger than all the others.

Nightstar leaned beside her father, "What do you think?"

Robin pointed a finger at the first large dot, "That's the JC Laboratory. When I was...blackmailed...By Slade into serving him, he sent me there first to steal the Thermal Blaster. A weapon Raven eventually destroyed. Slade must be putting his new apprentice through the same paces. If that's the case..."

Nightstar nodded, "If that's the case then..."

"I know where Ravager will strike next."


	7. The Ravager, Part 2

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Wayne Industries

February 6, 2006

11:38 pm

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The dark blanket of night had fallen on Jump City.

From the rooftops to the alleyways, shadow squelched all but the brightest of light. The only guide for the night owls of the city were the streetlights and luminated windows of the tall skyscrapers.

Near the very center of the city stood the tower for Wayne Industries' Jump City branch. The massive words shined like a beacon at the very top of the huge building.

Down below, the low rumble of a red motorcycle could be heard...

Slowly, Robin was circling the block of the tower, his eyes scanning the area for anything suspicious. So far he had seen nothing except the passing of cars in nighttime traffic and the occasional senior citizen.

Occasionally he would glance up to see Superboy and Starfire patrolling the dark sky above.

_'Where are you hiding Slade,'_ his mind and heart raced at the thought of finally catching the villain, however he, nor his apprentice "The Ravager" had made a move.

Little did the terrorist know that the Titans had set a trap for him. The tower was crawling with JCPD, and the Titans had taken positions all around and inside the building. No one was getting in without them knowing, and no one would be escaping without a fight.

At least, that was what he had planned.

His gloved tightened on the handlebars of his vehicle as he circled the block once more.

"This is Robin. Everyone, check in and report your status."

A response came quickly, _"This is Nightstar, nothing to report here on the roof-"_

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"-Everything is clear," she finished, taking quick looks back and forth between the rooftops and her communicator. She was crouched on top of the letter "A", the highest vantage point she could find. The soft wind comforted her. Despite her inability to fly, being close to the sky did bring her a sense of peace.

It also granted her a complete view of the city below, and yet after close to four and a half hours of waiting, she had seen nothing.

Starfire's voice sounded from the yellow communicator, _"This is Starfire, the sky is vacant of any evildoers."_

Nightstar's cyan eyes caught sight of her mother, flying circles around the top of the tower. The two hadn't said a word to each other since the garden, and the half-Tamaranean felt a pang of guilt at that moment.

She hated it when she felt guilty about something, and in the back of her mind she resolved to make it up to the cheerful alien when she could. Such thoughts of reconciliation didn't ease her heavy heart however.

"_Okay, what in the hell are we looking for again,"_ Superboy complained over the line for possibly the tenth time that night. She smirked a bit. Leave it to Superboy to help her take her mind off of things in his own..."unique"... way.

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"_Anything suspicious," _Robin replied over the communicator. Superboy held the yellow device to his chin, soaring in the night sky in between a line of buildings.

"Listen bird-brain. Where I come from astral demons NOT roaming the streets is suspicious, so a definition would be appreciated," he commented.

"_Check for anyone leaping rooftops or trying to gain access to the sewer systems below. Also look out for zip-lines," _Robin responded. It sounded like he was gritting his teeth inbetween words.

"And if I see anything suspicious?"

"Shoot first, ask questions later."

The red and blue clad teen grinned as he increased his altitude, flying high to get a could view of the main roads, "I like the way you think Rob, but this is getting old quick. This is like...the fifth bug I've swallowed."

Sounds of disgust and nausea swept over the communicator from multiple frequencies.

Robin ignored the comment, although he inwardly swore he would get the Boy of Steel back for that one.

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"_That goes double for everyone else. Slade is too dangerous to take lightly,"_ Robin's voice could be heard on Sentinel's wrist communicator. Menagerie was close by, listening in.

The two had taken their position inside of a long white hall, the fluorescent light buzzing above their heads. They were blocking a set of huge steel doors with a large combination lock. Inside the room behind them was the Neutron Pulse Warhead.

Simply put, it was like a miniature nuclear device, capable of taking out several city blocks. A dangerous weapon that the Titans were determined not to let Slade get his hands on.

"Understood Robin. If they get this far, we'll know what to do," Sentinel said, his deep voice filled with an almost zen-like calm. It was a sharp contrast to Menagerie's slightly pitched breathing. It was the waiting that was getting to her. The tension of not knowing when the hammer would fall.

Menagerie looked at the doors on the other side of the hall, remembering that a whole squad of JCPD officers were lying in wait, ready to spring the trap.

"What if this Ravager person doesn't show up?" she asked him.

"The Ravager will appear. I have faith in Robin's skills. One way or another we will be squaring off with him tonight," he admitted.

Her ears drooped a little, "...I was afraid of that."

"Don't worry," Sentinel's voice fell to a more gentler tone, and his more empathic side showed a little, "Your still new to this team. In the four months you've been with us I've seen you improve greatly. This stakeout will be easy."

"You...You've been watching me?" she asked, a hint of anticipation in her voice.

"Of course. How else can I train you?" he blinked, unsure of what she meant.

Menagerie sighed, "Your a dummy..."

"What?"

"Dummy..."

"What'd I say?"

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Sergeant Miller's voice arose on the communicator,_ "Don't worry guys. We're right behind you. We've got a barricade set up in the holding room, and patrols all through the building. No one's getting past us without a fight."_

Cyborg smirked, slapping the Sergeant on the back, "And you've got us, in case you forgot." The mechanical man grinned down at Geoforce.

The blond teen nodded with a smile, "Yeah...we're professionals!"

The white suited police officer cocked his head to the side, "Really now? How many operations like this have YOU done?"

A pause.

"Okay...," he pointed to Cyborg, "HE'S a professional." Geoforce sheepishly admitted.

Another guard turned to the smaller Titan, "And what does that make you?"

"...A newbie."

A third guard chuckled, "I was thinking mascot but newbie works."

Another guard shook his head, "Nah, that's the green one."

"The young girl in the hallway ahead?"

"No, not her...Man. She was cute though. If I was in High School again I'd so go for it."

"You still can, just say your sixteen with ten years experience."

"Oh that's wrong!"

The large Titan cracked up laughing. It was a good way to take their minds off of how dangerous their situation was. If all other Titans failed, it would be up to them to keep Slade's apprentice, and possibly even the madman himself at bay.

Cyborg's laughter subsided as that notion filled his thoughts, for he knew if that happened, they would be as good as dead.

"It's all good in here Robin," he soberly reported.

"_Same here. They alleyway leading to the Tower's secret entrance is also clear-"_

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"Nothing but the rats and Beast Boy for company," Raven remarked, checking in. The sorceress' gaze noticed that her teammate was leaning up against a stone wall, his communicator still on his belt. His green eyes were hidden from her as he watched the cars passing by in the street beyond.

"_Alright Titans. I want radio silence from here on out. No contact unless you catch something suspicious. This is Robin, over and out."_

She closed the communicator in her pale fingers and slid it back onto her belt. Her eyes never left Beast Boy who was as silent and still as a statue. A small shiver went up Raven's spine, before she eased herself towards him.

"It's too quiet...," the green teen commented. Raven couldn't help but be amused at his choice of words, "I agree. Silence doesn't suit you."

He snorted, almost disdainfully, "I meant the Tower. Slade should have shown up by now. The sadistic bastard is toying with us."

Lavender eyes went wide at the young boy, "Beast Boy..."

She could hear the leather of his gloves tightening, "When I get my hands on him. I'll make him wish he'd never come to this town."

"Garfield...," she pleaded, using his real name this time. His left ear twitched and he turned his head to her, "What?"

Raven jumped. She had only seen Beast Boy this angry twice since she had known him, "Your not yourself right now. You need to focus." He blinked and tried to breath some of the fire out of his lungs.

Whenever his adrenaline got this high, the Beast sometimes arose within him. He would go from being the Titan's resident clown and prankster into a ravenous monster. Luckily he had thus far been able to control it.

"All those people Rae," she listened almost forgetting she hated that nickname. "They never did anything to him and he slaughtered them all. And for what? It isn't fair..."

"Gar...This is Slade we're talking about," she pointed out, trying to subdue her almost instinctive sarcasm.

His voice fell to a low shudder, "He took her from me..."

It hit Raven like a ton of bricks. The pure emotions she felt burning within him. Terra. How long had it been? Even she couldn't really remember. It was a memory all of the Titans had tried to put behind them. Then there was his recent spell with the ex-superheroine.

"Garfield, she chose her own path."

"You think I don't know that? Rae...I want Slade. I want him to pay for what he did to us," he seethed, his eyes tightly shut.

Cool fingers ran along the edge of his neck, as Raven brought him into a slow embrace. They held each other for what felt like an eternity.

"Revenge won't change anything Beast Boy. It won't bring her back and it can't heal the pain in your heart. Such feelings are a mask to hide your pain. Don't hide from it. Become stronger from it," she told him in a soft voice that betrayed her usual monotone.

The elf contemplated on her words, slowly sliding away from her. A small smile slowly appeared on his face.

"Thanks Rae..."

She would have told him more, if not for the interruption of her communicator, beeping out the Titan's theme. To this day she still wondered why Cyborg chose such an annoying ringtone.

"This is Ra-"

"_I SAW SOMETHING SUSPICIOUS!"_

"...Good for you Superboy."

"_No, I mean it! On top of the roof. Someone was running on the roofs!"_

Robin intervened on the commlink, _"Did you stop them?"_

"_Not quite. He kind of...poofed."_

An irritated Robin was forced to beg the question, _"Poofed?"_

"_Poofed! Vanished! Disappeared!"_

Raven looked up and saw Superboy flying above them, pointing incessantly at the rooftop of a building nearby.

"Robin...Beast Boy and I will check it out. If nothing more than to shut him up."

"_Very well. Everyone else, hold your positions."_

Raven closed her communicator once more and began to float up into the sky, while Beast Boy transformed into an Pterodactyl. With a mighty flap of it's large wings it followed close behind.

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Officer Oliver opened his wide mouth and yawned, staring boredly at the multitude of television feeds in the security room. It was like something out of Star Wars. Computers and stations everywhere, with black uniformed security officers and a few white clad JCPD.

"Christ, they don't pay me enough to do this...," he muttered to himself when a female officer leaned over to his console.

"Oliver...What's that on your infrared feed?" she asked, pointing at what appeared to be a faint sliver of sharp bright colors on an otherwise bland gray background of a hallway.

He groaned, "Not now Sharon, I'm really tired of your jokes."

"Would you just look!" she barked.

With a sigh he glanced at the small screen to his right and immediately did a double-take, "What the-?" he typed a few keystrokes on his computer and zoomed in.

"What unit is closest to Sector Six?" he asked in his headset microphone.

"_This is JCPD Unit 421. I'm near the stairwell that leads to the 20th Floor,"_ a voice answered back.

"Yeah, this is Security Command. I'm getting some strange readings from the entrance to the pulse grenade wing. Could you check it out?"

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"I'm on it," The armored police officer said as he walked down the fluorescent lit hallway. The only sound that could be heard was the echo of his boots on the linoleum.

Through his red visored helmet he glanced around, looking for any intruders as he made his way to the lobby and vacant reception desk.

He spoke into his headset, "Sector Six. The check-in lobby right?"

"_Right...I see you on the monitor. It should be right there in front of you!"_

The policeman turned from side to side, raising his red and gray rifle, "I don't see a thing! There's no one in here!" He took his helmet off to get a better look, but his eyes still saw nothing.

But his ears heard it...The sound of heavy breathing, like someone was breathing in a mask.

It dawned on the officer, too little too late.

"HE'S CLOAKED!" he managed to scream, before an invisible fist drove itself into his nose and silenced him.

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BREEEE-BREEEE-BREEEE!

"_**Warning! Perimeter Breach. 20th Floor has been infiltrated! Intruder has a cloaking device. Use extreme caution!"**_

Six armored police officers ran through the hallway, guns raised and at the ready at they rushed to get to their fallen comrade.

SLAM!

A loud thud caused the officers to halt and turn to their rear. One of the six had been tripped and was sprawled out on the floor. A second later his helmet shattered beneath an invisible blow.

The remaining guards aimed their guns and fired into the air, hoping to hit the unseen target. Two gun barrels fell to the floor almost instantly, sliced off. Their users were brought down just as quickly, their chestplates buckling under covert strikes.

One of the officers cried out, feeling his arm being grabbed from behind and twisted back, putting him into an arm lock. Joints cracked and bones broke under the strong grip of his unknown assailant. His two fellow officers aimed their guns at him.

"No! Don't shoot!" he pleaded. The guards hesitated, unsure of what to do. It was all the time their "ghost" needed, shoving the incapacitated officer into them.

A red blast followed, and the officers found themselves trapped in a strange net.

A strange net shaped like an "X"...

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The loud sounds of gunshots cold be heard behind the entrance to the lab hallway.

"Robin, did you get that?" Sentinel spoke into his communicator, a glowing metal fist pointing to the doorway in front of them.

"_I heard. All Titans, proceed with the plan! Converge on the 20th floor and find the intruder! Sentinel. Menagerie. Hold him off until we get there! Cyborg. Geoforce. Stay in position until called for!"_

"Understood," the dark-skinned teen said in a low voice, putting his communicator away. He whipped his arms to his sides, unsheathing two glowing wrist-blades. His eyes remained steady on the entrance of the hallway.

"But...If we can't see him, how can we fight him?" Menagerie asked, getting into an uncertain ready stance.

"Use your sense of smell...I, on the other hand, can see him just fine," his metallic eyes seemed to shift, pupils turning to change into a bright blue.

The gunshots got louder and more frantic as whatever it was came closer and closer.

"Get Ready. And remember," Sentinel's voice dropped to almost a whisper, "I won't let anything happen to you."

Menagerie nodded, a little bolder thanks to his words.

_BLAM!_

The door flew open with a loud crash, an officer flying through it. The loud footsteps of a person sprinting could be heard. Sentinel's eyes didn't have to worry, seeing the faint outline of a humanoid figure in red and orange colors.

The Titan charged, swinging his blades together like a pair of scissors, just barely missing the figure's invisible neck. The attacker managed to grab both of his arms before he could bring them back to bear and sent a fist into the teen's face.

Sentinel staggered back but recovered, bringing a blade in a downward slash. His blade whistled, hitting nothing. The person he was fighting was quick. VERY quick. With each swing the mysterious man dodged and swerved like a martial arts expert.

To Menagerie, it looked like Sentinel was fighting by himself, and was unsure of where to strike, although her black soul claws were ready at a moment's notice.

The dreadlocked teen spun like a top swinging both blades wildly. The loud clang of clashing metal rang out in the corridor. A hit.

Sentinel sent out a forward kick, managing to catch the figure in what appeared to be his stomach. The Infrared image double over a little, and came at him in a furious rage. The future Titan raised both blades to guard as a the figure struck.

He was just barely able to hold the intruder back, locked in combat. Menagerie raised her claws to strike when the figure spoke.

"You've trained with HIM, haven't you?"

Sentinel gritted his teeth and shoved the invisible stalker away with both arms, "What are you talking about?"

"You...You've trained with The Bat."

This caught the teen off guard, giving the attacker the split second it needed, catching Sentinel in the chin with a sharp heel. The dreadlocked hero fell back, stunned from the blow.

Menagerie gasped and backed away from the scene. She could definitely smell him, but it was of no use if she couldn't see where she was supposed to strike. Her purple eyes nervously shifted in front of her. She couldn't hear him either.

A moment, and she felt it, a pair of arms wrap around her petite body, hugging her arms to her sides. She could hear him breathing, hoarse and sharp like he was wearing a mask.

"Well now...aren't you a cute little thing. I'm liking those ears," the voice whispered, as Menagerie felt a hand caress her cheek.

The green girl blushed angrily as black energy swirled onto her back, unleashing rows and rows of spines, not unlike that of a porcupine. She felt his arms loosen and scrambled from his grasp, "My cloaking device!"

The figure's outline suddenly came into view like a silhouette, then darken, taking on color and detail. The cloaking aura quickly fell, revealing a boy not much taller than Robin in a dark suit and shredded cape. He did indeed wear a mask that resembled a skull with a sharp red "X" on the brow. Unfortunately he was uninjured from the girl's attack.

The dark-haired girl took a few more steps back, enveloping her hands in black claws once more, "Who are you? Slade's new apprentice?"

The teen chuckled, "You wish cutie. The name's X...Red X." He charged, extending a pair of "X" shaped blades from his wrists. Menagerie did a quick back flip to escape his sharp weapons, crouching as she landed. She leaped forward with her right foot, slashing at his chest with one of her claws. Like her spines it did make contact, but did no real damage to the person underneath.

Red X sent a hand out in a quick burst of speed, grabbing the girl's wrist and twisting it sharply into a wrist lock. Menagerie could feel her joint cracking, despite the soul-self covering her limbs. A foot shot out, kicking her square in the face.

The girl's knees buckled, but she didn't go down. Red X mercilessly sent out another kick. And another. And another. Each blow caused the girl to drop down just a little farther, until she was on her knees. As long as he held her wrist tightly in his lock, she was at his mercy.

_ZAAAP!_

A sonic blast landed right in Red X's face, causing the villain to shuffle back as sound waves assaulted his cranium. He clutched the sides of his mask in pain, but glared straight ahead at a now standing and VERY angry Sentinel. The teen rushed forward with a burst of speed that seemed to defy physics itself, grabbing the masked thief by his face and slamming him into a wall.

The push was so intense that it left a huge dent where the helmet struck the metal wall. Red X struggled under the strong grip of the tall boy, but to no avail.

"Let me-!"

"SHUT UP!" Sentinel commanded, raising a wrist blade to the villain's throat. "Menagerie. Call Robin."

"No need," Robin said, entering the corridor with Raven and Beast Boy at either side. Superboy eventually followed, staying in the doorway in case X tried to escape. The Boy of Steel couldn't help but admire the thief for a moment, "Cool costume."

Red X gave a sarcastic, "Thanks."

Beast Boy smirked, noting the capture of Robin's second arch-nemesis, "Way to go new-!"

Sentinel's glare cut the elf's compliment short, "Eeep!"

Robin closed in on Red X. The Boy Wonder reached down to his belt and unclipped it, the suit powering down. The thief was now almost completely defenseless and Robin knew it.

"Alright X...Or should I say, Ravager." Robin accused grabbing X by his throat.

The villainous teen chuckled once more, in that dark mocking laughter, "Your out of your mind..."

Robin tightened his grip, "THIS IS NOT JOKE! PEOPLE ARE DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!"

"Hey Hey Hey!" Red X protested, "I may be a thief and crook, but I'm no murderer!"

Raven tapped Robin's shoulder, "He's telling the truth Robin. He's not the Ravager." The masked teen blinked, but didn't let go, "Wait...He isn't the one Superboy saw on the rooftops?"

Red X answered, "Heck no! I was polite! I used the front door."

Superboy shrugged, "I saw someone...I was a little too far up to see any details. It COULD have been him...Although the figure was kind of thin. And girlish," He looked at Red X with a very careful eye, 'It COULD have been him." The teen couldn't help but take an opportunity to tease the prisoner.

"Not funny," X grumbled.

Beast Boy and Menagerie shared looks of confusion and then worry as a stunned silence filled the corridor.

Sentinel lowered his wrist-blade, his mind going to work to find a solution, "Then if he wasn't the one on the roof, then who was it?"

_BOOM!_

The loud explosion from the laboratory vault caught everyone's attention.

Beast Boy's eyes went as wide as dinner plates, "That's not good."

"Understatement of the century!" Superboy grumbled, heading to open the door. He grabbed both sides of the vault's lock and pulled to open it. However, he only succeeded in ripping the dial off of its hinge and leaving the door permanently locked.

"Whoops!"

"Understatement of the century...," Raven said with a smirk, raising her hand gracefully towards the door, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" she chanted, dark energy pushing the huge metal door forward in an attempt to open it. The vault entrance groaned and squealed, before finally being thrown forward and onto the floor inside the huge room.

Smoke issued forth from the room, along with the sounds of a few guards groaning in pain. As the smoke began to clear a little, one could see the inside of the vault. Its walls resembled something like a computer chip.

Geoforce came stumbling out, coughing profusely, "Got away! She got away!"

Menagerie rushed to her friend's side, helping him to his feet, "What happened?"

"She got the drop on us! That's what happened!" Cyborg growled, his armor covered in thin scratches from some kind of blade. "She stole the grenade and escaped through the ventilation shaft!"

Robin stared at his friend in disbelief, "Who...?"

Cyborg's tone was deadly serious, "Who do you think?"

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

At the top of Wayne Tower a figure slowly slipped out of a grate in the roof. With snake-like grace she slipped from the ventilation shaft and eased into a crouch. The shadow crept silently along the rooftop, eager to make it to the zip line at the edge of the building.

_Whizzz!_

A bird-a-rang sliced the rope before she could make it, and the figure shot up to see who the owner of the boomerang like weapon was.

Nightstar gave a confident smirk as she hopped down from her perch, extending a bo-staff, "Your good, very good...Ravager."

The light of the tower illuminated the figure; a girl of average height and slender weight. She wore an orange and black uniform, just like the mask M'ari and Robin had found in the JC Lab. Her face was covered with a cowl, and two rapiers rested at her sides.

The figure didn't answer Nightstar, flinching at the name. She instead reached for her utility belt, but a green light from behind caught her attention.

Starfire was floating in the sky behind her, starbolts waiting in her hands, "I would not do that if I were you. Come peacefully and stand down Ravager. If you do, we promise no harm will come to you." The Tamaranean closed in, landing on the roof, "Please...Enough blood has been shed today."

Quicker than either of the Titans could respond, the girl's hands dug two discs from her belt and hurled them at both of the teens. The discs exploded in green nets that latched onto the ground, holding both heroes tightly to the roof.

The masked girl smirked as she pulled out a grapple gun, "Be glad it's not your blood..." she commented, launching the hook and escaping with a leap off of the tower.

Nightstar growled, using the sharp edge of her bird-a-rang to slice open the net. She was not letting her target escape, running to the edge of the building.

Starfire's eyes went wide as she saw her daughter gave chase, "No, M'ari! Don't!"

Ignoring her mother she reached for her own grappling gun and fired, diving off of the roof.

The feeling was always the same, like her guts were rising inside of her stomach. Her heart almost seemed to stop as she fall.

She free-fell for what felt like minutes, the wind whipping at her short hair, before the line went taut and swung her to the street below. The half-Tamaranean let go of the gun and down into a roll, landing roughly on the ground.

A bright light and the sound of a roaring engine came from behind, and she dove to her right just in time to see Ravager fleeing on a black motorcycle, already one step ahead of the Titan.

Nightstar silently cursed, looking around for something...Anything. Her cyan eyes fell on the sleek red R-cycle.

The Teen Titan flashed a devil-may-care grin.

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

"What do you mean she took my R-cycle?" Robin was fuming inside the corridor, his communicator tight in his grasp.

"_Nightstar "borrowed" your vehicle to chase the Ravager that was fleeing with the pulse grenade,"_ Starfire said mournfully.

Red X whistled beneath his mask, still at the mercy of the Titans in the room, "She's got some serious guts to be chasing someone like that..."

Robin glared at the thief, "What do you know about it?"

"Chasing down a big, three-hundred pound mass of walking death isn't my idea of a fun time," Red X stated, matter-of-factly. The rest of the Titans looked at him with a confused expression, unsure of how to take his comment.

Cyborg shook his head, "Last time I checked, teen aged girls don't weigh three-hundred pounds."

It was Red X's turn to be confused, "What are you talking about? The Ravager is one of the most feared bounty hunters in the underground! Some people aren't even sure he exists, but those of us that do stay out of his way. Unless they want to become a corpse."

Sentinel shot him a dirty look, "Come on...You expect us to fall for such an obvious trick? You were right here, along with whoever it is on the roof! You two were working together!"

The villain shook his head vigorously, or at least as vigorously as anyone could with fingers around their throat, "No way! I came for the grenade myself. Do you know how much that thing is worth?"

Robin raised a hand to his chin, trying to put the puzzle together, despite all the things going on at once. Sentinel's words struck a chord in the masked crime fighter, and it all suddenly made sense.

"We've all been duped!"

Everyone in the hallway turned to Robin, eager to hear what he had to say.

"The Ravager...the REAL Ravager set us up. Stole the blaster. Killed the scientists, and planted the evidence. I KNEW something was off! It wasn't Slade's style. The Ravager wanted us to come here. To hunt down Slade ourselves and save him the trouble!"

Red X cocked his head to the side, "Well done Boy Wonder. You figured it out. And I didn't even have to spell it out for you."

"You knew?"

"Of course. I just felt like playing the "not-so-innocent thief" until you guys figured it out for yourselves. Besides, it's none of my business if you guys get wiped out. All I want is the pulse grenade. My prize. You guys can play detective."

Robin's eyes narrowed beneath his mask, "But why? Why would the Ravager want Slade?"

Red X shook his head in disappointment, "Come on Robin, isn't it obvious? He wants revenge. Anyone who would go to this kind of trouble without any hope of reward obviously wants vengeance. Just one problem. Slade sent his new pet instead..."

"Which means..."

"Which means your little friend is as good as dead."

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

Amidst the light traffic of Jump City's streets two motorcycles clashed. Like knights jousting for their honor the two females fought viciously.

Nightstar's staff dragged on the ground, creating sparks as she turned sharply to the right, closing in on her adversary. The masked girl held a thin rapier firmly in her grasp, thrusting the blade out to her left in order to stop the Titan from closing in on her. A quick sweeping block deflected the attack.

The girl wasn't through, spinning her blade in a circle to get through Nightstar's guard. She almost succeeded as the point of the blade slipped past the staff, aimed straight for the half-Tamaranean's heart. It unfortunately also left Slade's apprentice wide open, as the tip of the staff struck her straight in the chin. The girl recoiled from the blow, easing her motorcycle away as quickly as she could.

"Ravager" realized that the length of the staff gave her a huge disadvantage, and knew she had to come up with a different strategy.

The apprentice decreased the speed on her bike in an attempt to get behind Nightstar. The Titan mimicked her perfectly, lowering her speed as well while swinging her staff in a backwards swing in the hopes of catching the girl across the face. The cowled girl saw the attack coming though, and ducked her head against the bike and threw a smoke grenade in retaliation.

The smoke bomb exploded in Nightstar's face, causing her to lose vision of the road.

_BRRRRREEEP!_

A city bus blared its horn, and as she regained her vision Nightstar realized she was heading straight for it. She shifted her weight on the bike to the left, swerving out of the way a split-second before the large vehicle hit her. Passing the large bus she saw her rival on the other side of the street.

The masked teen turned sharply to the right, heading down a less crowded road. Nightstar hit the brakes on her bike while leaning to the left, doing a tight turn that almost put her in a 360 but stopping her about 90 degrees short. She aimed her bike down the right road and hit the gas as far as it would go, shooting after the "Ravager" like a bullet.

The apprentice glanced back and seeing that Nightstar was still on her tail did a sharp 180, before increasing her speed as well. She straightened up on her bike, sword poised for a side swipe attack. Nightstar held her bo-staff firm and lined herself up with her opponent's bike.

They were going to play "Chicken".

The two steeled themselves, neither one of them backing down as the two bikes came straight at each other. The sweat, the nervous tension of the two riders was apparent, but they were determined to bring each other down.

The motorcycles passed each other, and both riders swung their weapons. It wasn't obvious who connected, as both came to a stop on opposite ends of the street. Nightstar suddenly felt it. The sting on her cheek. A thin surface cut. She was glad she had a longer weapon or the "Ravager" might have sliced her head off.

Her opponent grinned devilishly, before heading down an alleyway. For her it was victory enough to have drawn blood. Nightstar followed in hot pursuit. The walls of the buildings were very close, but as far as the half-Tamaranean could see, it was a straight line.

The Titan was right on the heels of the black motorcycle, dodging trash cans and dumpsters as best she could. Her eyes could make out the apprentice reaching for her belt once more, throwing a sphere-like object skyward.

A Bomb.

It exploded with a deafening boom, causing the sides of two buildings to cave in, a pile of brick, glass, and metal coming down on Nightstar. The girl turned down an alleyway to the left just in time, dodging the pile of debris. Another tight turn, and she was parallel to her target. Between gaps in the buildings she could see the girl on her bike. They were side-by-side.

Nightstar retracted her bo-staff and prepared a starbolt in a gloved hand. It seems her opponent had the same idea, for as they passed the next gap, she saw a small grenade launcher in the apprentice's hand. The Titan quick hit the brakes before the following gap as the grenade crossed her path, exploding a few buildings farther down.

_'If I didn't know better I'd say she wants me to stop chasing her.'_

She twisted the throttle and sped up once more. Nightstar knew enough about old weapons to know that the "Ravager's" grenade launcher had only one round in it, and it would take time to reload.

The two finally cleared the buildings and almost in a synchronized fashion turned to the left. This time Nightstar was ahead of her prey, and sped up, letting her opponent chase her for a change.

She could see "Ravager" reloading her grenade launcher out of the corner of her eye and hit the brakes once more, doing a quick 180 and throwing a starbolt just as the grenade left the barrel of the launcher. The two projectiles met between the riders, exploding in a loud burst of smoke and fire. Nightstar swerved around the apprentice and did another sharp 180. This time "Ravager" did not follow along, instead making a beeline for an exit.

They were quickly making their way to a more dilapidated section of Jump city, where trash was everywhere and buildings were falling to pieces from old age.

Nightstar hurled another starbolt at "Ravager", managing to land a hit on her rear tire. The rubber melted quickly and went flat, causing the girl to lose control and fall off of her bike.

She rolled onto the ground rather ungracefully, screeching in anger at the half-alien. M'ari was hardly threatened, picking up speed on her motorcycle. She was going to finish this quickly, drawing her bo-staff once again. One blow and it would all be over.

The apprentice reached into her belt once more and drew what appeared to be a retractable boomerang shaped like an "S". Nightstar ducked her head behind the plastic shield of the bike and increased her speed.

Sadly she fell right into the "Ravager's" trap.

As Nightstar came close, the girl dove to the side and threw the boomerang right into the spokes of the vehicle. Metal grinded as the explosive inside the boomerang detonated, causing the bike to jump and go into a mid-air roll. The Titans was flung helplessly from the thing, landing hard on the concrete.

Her ears rang and her head was swimming from the attack. Slowly she got back on her feet, facing her attacker once more. She had no idea where her bo-staff was, and drew another bird-a-rang instead, holding it like a dagger.

Slade's apprentice smirked, drawing her other rapier. "Do you want me to finish her Daddy?" she asked. Nightstar raised an eyebrow at her, before realizing she was talking into a headset in her cowl. "Oh Daddy can I? A Titan? A real one? Are you sure?...Oh yes. I will Daddy."

The way she kept on using the word "Daddy" was almost creepy and sent a shiver down Nightstar's spine.

The masked girl giggled, "Daddy says it's time for you to die. We can't let you find out our new home." She flicked a trigger on the rapiers, and the blades collapsed like rope, extending into what could only be described as whip-blades.

"I'm going to enjoy this...," she said with a bloodthirsty purr in her throat.

Nightstar felt a deep hallow in the pit of her stomach. Despite all of her training, she realized she was in deep trouble.

The apprentice came down on her with unbridled fury, spinning her whips with both arms like an experienced dancer. The strikes from the blades came so quick they were almost invisible, a deep slice appearing on Nightstar's bare shoulder. The girl winced, backing away from the deadly whips.

Nightstar managed to duck and roll under a horizontal slice, and threw her bird-a-rang. The boomerang weapon came close, managing to make a small cut on the side of the girl's exposed neck.

"Ravager" growled like a wild animal, ducking low and spinning like a top. The barbed whip wrapped around the ankle of Nightstar's boot, painfully sending her butt-first to the ground. Sadistically the apprentice ran backwards, dragging the half-Tamaranean back. The barbs only tightened, digging deep into the flesh of Nightstar's leg.

Out of reflex, she threw a starbolt, but it swerved off target, missing her captor completely. "Ravager" grinned like a child who was torturing a fly. She gave another sharp tug with her whip, causing Nightstar to cry out in pain.

Slade's apprentice laughed maniacally, her free whip still spinning in her other hand. A flick of her wrist sent the whip-blade out, slashing at Nightstar with a loud roar. The half-alien closed her eyes, waiting for the whip to slice her to ribbons.

_ZAP ZAP ZAP!_

Three well timed starbolts slammed into the girl, before two green beams struck her in the stomach, knocking the "Ravager" back and into the pavement. Nightstar opened her eyes to a welcome sight as the soul-self of Raven dissipated, revealing the rest of the Titans. Red X however was not with them, having been left to the authorities in Wayne Tower.

Cyborg smirked, "Someone in need of a rescue?" he asked, before unleashing sonic fury on her assailant.

Starfire leaned down to Nightstar's leg, gently pulling the barbed whip from the girl's leg, "Are you alright?"

Nightstar shakily nodded, "You came for me..."

"Do not be foolish. You are my daughter, of course I came for you," Starfire said, smiling brightly. The future Titan was at a loss for words. It was strange how such simple statements could stir such emotion in two people.

Just as "Ravager" was about to get off of her back, a green wolf pounced on top of her, growling viciously. Raven came up, petting the canine form of Beast Boy on the head, "Good boy..." she smirked.

Robin helped Nightstar to her feet, "Don't you ever do that again!"

"I know...I shouldn't have gone off after an untested enemy without backup...It was foolish of me."

"Wrong...First rule of being a Teen Titan. Don't ever touch my R-Cycle. EVER."

Nightstar couldn't help but chuckle at the comment, "It's over then. We got her. We got the Ravager."

The grave look that her fellow Titans gave her said otherwise and caused M'ari's stomach to churn, "Oh no..."

A dark laughter filled the empty street, deep and foreboding. It was the sound of the real trap being sprung.

The Titans looked for the source of the sound. It was echoing from the end of the street corner. Slowly, a large figure stepped out; dressed in red and blue. Bandoleers of ammunition formed an X across his chest and weapons lined his many belts. In one hand he held a huge claymore blade, and in the other, a massive machine gun.

He still hadn't stopped laughing as he walked towards the Titans and his prize, "Oh yes..."

Slade's apprentice screamed, scrambling out from under Beast Boy, backing away.

"Ahh...You recognize me. It's been a long time Rose."

"Go to hell DeFarge!" she yelled.

"Heh heh heh," he chuckled, "I have more important things to do. Now tell your Uncle Wade, where Slade is. Your father and I have a LOT of catching up to do..."


End file.
